


Petals and Petdals

by Adora_McClain



Category: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018)
Genre: Adora and Catra trying not to kill each other - Freeform, Catra (She-Ra) Redemption, Catra being an ass - Freeform, Catra being sweet - Freeform, Drunk Adora, F/F, Flower Shop/Tattoo Shop AU, Minor Assault, Partying, Swearing
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-17
Updated: 2020-09-07
Packaged: 2021-03-03 03:14:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 26,971
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24227923
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Adora_McClain/pseuds/Adora_McClain
Summary: Adora just aged out of the Fright Zone, or 'Hordak's Home for Wayward and Unwanted Youth' and her friend Perfuma set her up with a job, running her flower shop in the small town of Brightmoon.Things should be going great, but she accidentally starts a rivalry with the cute tattoo artist, Catra, who works in the shop across from her.In this small town filled with odd shop keepers, Adora's just trying to get used to this crazy new world outside of the Fright Zone.
Relationships: Adora/Catra (She-Ra), Bow/Glimmer (She-Ra), Catdora bonding, Flower-Shop AU - Relationship, Perfuma/Scorpia (She-Ra), Protective Catra - Relationship, Tattoo Shop AU - Relationship, enemies to lovers - Relationship
Comments: 125
Kudos: 361





	1. The New Girl

**Author's Note:**

> So... I googled 'Flower/Tattoo Shop She-ra AUs' and I couldn't find anything so I was like... I gotta write one.  
> After the amazingness that was season 5 (No spoilers, don't worry) it is my duty.

Adore sighed, wiping some sweat from her forehead as she dragged a heavy cement flower pot from the outside display of the shop back inside. Adora had just spent the last seven hours getting Perfuma’s dusty shop back into working order after being empty for two long months. 

“Don’t mind me,” She muttered to the cool summer night, looking at the empty street that would tomorrow be littered with tourists and townies alike. “Just… running a flower shop… because that is something I totally know how to do!” Eh, fake it till you make it, right? 

This was all still pretty new for Adora. 

Her life had completely changed over the past week. Like… completely. 

She had finally aged out of the ‘Fright Zone’, or at least, that’s what the teens unlucky enough to have survived through ‘The Right Zone: Hordak’s Home For Unwanted and Wayward Youth’. 

That’s right, her eighteenth birthday was last week, and she was a goddamn success story! She had successfully made it out of a Group Home, a lifetime in an orphanage, not pregnant, without a drug addiction, not a single poke and stick tattoo, and a high school diploma, thank you very much. 

Still, despite her studying her way to the top of the honours roll, there was no hope for a kid with zero support system, and no money to have enough to make it to university. 

Sure, she had been a success story, but success after aging out of the system was to just get by with a nine to five job. 

This was still the real world, remember. 

Sighing to herself, Adora took a look at the front of the way-too-pink store, she had always preferred red herself, but this wasn’t her shop after all. ‘Perfuma’s Flower Emporium’ was displayed in gold, cursive letters across the store’s large window, and also on a small wooden sign that hung over the sidewalk. 

“You can do this, Adora.” She mumbled to herself, after spending the entire day getting the store ready for its grand re-opening tomorrow. “You can… run a flower shop. How hard can it be? You are totally not in over your head…” She breathed to the night air, trying to believe in her words. 

“And here I thought I was lucky enough that that eye-sore was finally being shut down.” She heard a disgruntled voice from across the street yell. Adora spun around on her heel at the noise, but was honestly surprised when she realized that the comment was aimed at her. She wasn’t used to getting yelled at, she was used to keeping her head down. 

Adora saw a thin, tanned woman with one full sleeve tattooed on her left arm. She had wild, untamable brown hair lazley thrown up into a ponytail, with half of its contents falling at the sides of the woman's face. Not to mention, she was wearing an honest to god leather vest.

She was the picture of ‘bad kid’ from Grease, and Adora had to suppress the urge to laugh at the sight of her. 

Adora had grown up around actual bad kids, and she means bad, drug peddling, will make a knife out of a toothbrush, have nothing to lose type of kids. She knew a wanna-be when she saw one. 

“And I come to work to see that the one annoying, peppy blonde girl who used to run the flower shop, has been replaced with another peppy blonde girl.” The darker woman continued to speak from where she sat in the brick windowsill of the tattoo shop across the street.

Adora huffed, crossing the quiet road to the woman, most likely a tattoo artist out on a smoke break. “I’m sorry, did I do something to bother you?” she asked, cocking her head to the side a bit and debating if she could take this girl if she had to. 

The woman scoffed a bit, smoke coming out as she did so. “Your existence bothers me, Princess.” 

“Princess?” Adora asked, “wow, you really think you can just look at a person and know everything about them, huh?” She said, crossing her arms as she spoke. The woman obviously took this as an invitation to glance at her chest. Adora rolled her eyes. 

“Blonde ponytail,” the woman spoke, never moving from the windowsill, but putting out her cigarette against the brick as she spoke. “Tells me you must have been a cheerleader in highschool, and just never go out of the habit.” Adora smirked a bit at the strangers comments, as the thought of her being a cheerleader in highschool passed her mind. She had always wanted to, but the Fright Zone didn’t exactly have ‘extracurriculars’. “Rich kid, only child, proud parents…” The woman listed. “But you decided that before you went off to your Ivy League school to become a lawyer or- no, even better, an elementary school teacher,” the cocky woman laughed at her own jokes as she mocked, “you decided to come to the sleepy little retirement town of Brightmoon and work in a freaking flower shop, because you think it’d be good for your instagram feed. Is that about right?” 

‘Instagram?’ Adore thought, but didn’t dare ask. 

She knew the girl was trying to insult her, but Adora couldn’t help but smile at her words, because of how badly she wanted them to be true. But you know what? This was a new town, a fresh start from a lifetime of no fun. This woman’s story would have to do. 

“Wow,” Adora breathed sarcastically. “Are you just a magician or a stalker, Cat-Girl?” She said, referring to the large cat tattooed into the girls sleeve. 

So this stranger didn’t have to know that Perfuma was an old friend from the Fright Zone, and that she had been opening a new flower shop in California in order to build a chain after this one took off, and… that she had given Adora the job as a favour after she aged out. 

Adora liked the tattooed strangers story better. 

“I’m just a good judge of character, Blondie.” The woman spoke. “So, Perfuma really got a teenager running her shop now?” 

“I’m an adult, first of all.” Adora said confidently. “Well… eighteen, so, technically a teen… but also technically an adult!” She mumbled, not so confidently… so close. “And Perfuma’s opening a new one,” Adora shrugged, “needed someone to run her shop in Brightmoon for a few months, what’s it to you? You hate flowers or something?”

“I hate some frilly little shop next to my badass tattoo parlor.” The stranger replayed. 

Adora couldn’t help but laugh. “Badass? I think you just mean ‘bad’.” She said, eyeing the dark, run down shop, decorated with what she could only assume were old Halloween decorations. 

“Hey!” The stranger yelled. “Better than the Barbie Dreamhouse you’re running.”

“Well, looks like we’re neighbours now, Kitty, so you better get used to me.” 

“Yeah, we’ll see about that, Princess.” She said, hopping off of the windowsill and making her way up the stairs of ‘Horde Scum: Tattoos and Piercings’. 

“Have a good one,” Adora rolled, turning to cross the street. 

“Hey, cheerleader!” The woman called after her. “What’s my character?” She smirked, hoping to catch the girl off guard. 

“I’m not sure yet,” Adora called back as she made the way up her own steps. “I’m not one to think that you can judge someone's character off of one interaction, unlike, you know, some people.” The blonde woman veered, closing the pink painted door in the process. 

The woman smirked a bit to herself. “Well played, Princess.” She mumbled to herself. 

……… 

Catra was pissed, to say the least. 

She had been enduring the pink, frilly shop across the street for too long. It’s roses, Sunday Morning Tea, and meditation circles had been killing business for years. Most of the underage kids in town wouldn’t get tattooed at the Horde Scum anymore, fearing of getting caught by the gossiping Grandma battalion that hung out outside of the shop. Their mothers would most definitely find out if one of those old bats caught them. 

Catra had been over the moon when Flower Girl closed the doors of her shop, and two blissful months passed without any issue. Well, except for her fellow tattoo artists being softies on her. 

Scorpia had been heartbroken because she was completely in love with the Hippie who ran the place, and Catra was all but sure that Huntara had had a fling with her (man, how was the hippie looser getting more action than her, come to think of it?). 

That hippie chick decided to take her flower show on the road, and broke her best friends heart in the process. Though Catra would never admit that she cared for Scorpia, Perfuma had hurt her friend, and that meant that the flower shop was enemy territory. 

And just like that, some other blonde, happy-go-lucky kid with a heart full of dreams and a store full of flowers decides to open the doors back up, great! 

“How’d it go?” Scorpia asked, “you weren’t mean were you? Oh gosh, tell me you weren’t mean! Not saying you’re a mean person…” She rambled on. She had a habit of doing that. “Just saying you have mean… tendencies?”

“Relax, Scorpia,” Catra breathed to the woman following her as she walked through the shop to her chair. “I made nice, okay?”

Huntara scoffed from behind the counter. “Yeah, right.” 

“Hey!” Catra hissed, “I am delightful, okay? I wouldn't be surprised if ponytail asks me out by the end of the week.” 

Huntara laughed, “bet.” she said. 

“I’ve seen what you pay me, neither of us can afford a bet,” she smirked. 

“That, and Blondie is out of your league,” Huntara smirked. 

“Hey, the last blondie to work at that shop was out of your league, and you got pretty far…” Catra smirked. 

Scorpia knocked over a mental tray of ink at Catra’s words, clattering loudly against the tile floor. “Oh, Gosh, that was… that was my fault entirely,” She mumbled as she tried to pick up the vials that were emptying quickly against the floor. “Take that out of my paycheck, Boss, I deserve it… I’m just gonna… I’m gonna grab a mop, sorry again!” She called, making her way out of the room and into the back. 

Catra didn’t have enough time to duck away from Huntara smacking her upside the head. “Nice going there, Kitty, you know she’s still reeling from Flower Girl’s moving.” 

“I know, whoops, I’m sorry.” Catra said, sounding more annoyed than apologetic. 

“And I cut off our fling the second I found out about Scorpia’s little crush, alright?” Huntara spoke, “Because that’s what friends do. Something you need get the hang of.” 

“I don’t need friends.” Catra grumbled, “Scorpia can go and cry if she wants, it’s not my fault that she’s sensitive. I’m fine on my own.” 

……….. 

Adora fell onto the creaky bed in the small attic of Perfuma’s shop. “Just until I get on my feet,” Adora spoke to the empty room. “Wait…” She breathed to the nothingness. “I have… my own room.” 

As Catra clocked out around two in the morning, she got on her motorcycle and cast one last, resentful look at the flower shop. One light was on in the attic, and in the quiet streets, in the dead of night, Cata watched as the new girl jumped on her bed. 

Catra didn’t know why, but she smiled.


	2. Peace Offering or Pranks?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adora struggles to run Perfuma's shop. 
> 
> “Oh, no, I am… so sorry!” Adora said, looking to her hand to see she was still holding up the large pair of scissors in the air. “This looks, very threatening, I admit…” She said, dropping them on the counter.
> 
> The girl laughed, walking over to Adora and placing a blue to-go cup with a fish scale pattern in front of her. “The first day can be the hardest, here!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The people hath spoken! Hence, chapter 2 arises!!

So apparently running a flower shop is really hard. Like, really, really hard. 

Adora spend her entire re-grand opening trying to figure out the difference between dog lilies, daisies and forgetmenots, with impatient old ladies tapping their feet. 

The in-trouble boyfriends were Adora’s favourite, though, because they also knew nothing about flowers. Adora’s favourite part of the day was when she heard a voice go “Uh… she likes purple, do you have any of that?”

Every time Adora tripped over herself, cut her thumb on a thorn, forgot how to work the register, or got cursed out by an angry customer for being too slow, she always noticed the tattooed girl sitting on the windowsill of the shop across the street, or watching Adora from the window of Horde Scum with a little smirk on her face, like she loved watching her drown. 

Adora decided that she did not like that girl. 

“Have a good night!” Adora called to the last customer of the day, face planting on the counter the second the door shut behind the woman. 

“We’re closed.” She mumbled into the hardwood as she heard the dreaded ‘ding’ of the bell above the door. 

She was met with a familiar voice laughing. 

“Jeez Blondie, you had me worried for nothing.” Catra spoke, “you keep that up and you’ll be closed by the time rent’s due!” 

“So you’ve been watching me all day, have you, kitty?” Adora smirked. 

Catra hated that she blushed. “It’s like a car wreck, no matter how much you wanna look away from the carnage, you can’t,” she shrugged. 

Adora threw a rose at the girl as it was one of the only things on her counter, which she dodged easily. “That all you got?” she smirked. 

“I’ve got scissors.” Adora threatened, holding up a pair that she used to cut flowers and ribbons with. She sniped the air with them hoping to look intimidating. 

“Sounds fun, I’m in.” Catra remarked with a shit-eating grin.

Catra watched as the blonde turned a shade of red she had previously thought only cartoon characters could achieve. “Did you just- Oh my God, get... get out of my shop!” The girl spluttered. 

Catra laughed, “It won’t be your shop for long, cutie.” 

“You think I’m cute?” Adora asked innocently, taken aback by the comment. She had never been called cute before. 

Catra was caught off guard by the girl's innocents, the way her face softened completely as she asked the question, like she had completely expected an answer. Catra instead opted to roll her eyes, closing the door a little too harshly on the way out. 

Face planting again onto the counter, she heard the bell ding once more. With scissors still in hand, she yelled, “I said we’re closed!”

“Wow, sorry, my bad!” Said a girl who looked to be about her age, standing in the doorway. The teen had thick, curly hair dyed pink and purple. As she stepped into the light of the shop, Adora noticed that she was wearing sparkly hairspray in her curls. 

The girl had bright hair, round hips, and was wearing a purple skirt and pink lace top with bright, sparkly makeup. She just embodied everything you weren’t allowed to do- weren’t allowed to be, in the Fright Zone. Adora didn’t know human beings could be so colourful. 

One time when she was a kid in the Fright Zone, her and some other blonde girls had stashed their juice away from the meal hall, and had given each other bright streaks of colour with it. Only, it didn’t wash out. They were forced to shave their heads as punishment the next day. The other kids had called them boys until it had grown back. 

Adora just knew at that moment that she had to make this bright, sparkly stranger a part of the new life she was trying so desperately to build for herself. 

“Oh, no, I am… so sorry!” Adora said, looking to her hand to see she was still holding up the large pair of scissors in the air. “This looks, very threatening, I admit…” She said, dropping them on the counter.

The girl laughed, walking over to Adora and placing a blue to-go cup with a fish scale pattern in front of her. “The first day can be the hardest, here!” 

“What’s this?” Adora asked at the cup. 

“It’s coffee, from Mermista’s Cafe, it’s a few doors down! I figured you’d need it after a grand re-opening!” The girl spoke. 

“Like, a present?” Adora asked. 

“Um, well… yeah, I guess you could call it that?” The girl said, trying her best to be polite, as her mother had taught her. 

“I’ve never gotten a present before!” Adora beamed, taking the hot cup in her hands. “Thank you!” 

The girl laughed a bit, odd people were always far more fun than ordinary ones, after all. And this girl was… definitely odd. “It’s with milk and sugar, I wasn’t sure how you took it so I just got it like I get mine- but don’t worry, Mermista has the best coffee in Brightmoon, couldn’t ruin it if you wanted to!” 

“Oh, I’ve never had coffee before,” Adora said. 

“What?” The girl gasped, “but you’re, what? Seventeen?” 

“Eightteen,” Adora corrected. 

“How did you ever survive exams without caffeine! I don’t think I would have graduated if Bow hadn't brought me coffee to homeroom every morning! Are you Mormon or something?” 

“No, I’m Adora.” 

The girl laughed a bit, “you’re funny, Adora.” The teen said, although Adora wasn’t sure what she had said that was funny. And what kind of name was Mormon? “I’m Glimmer by the way, it’s nice to meet you!” 

“Did you know Perfuma?” Adora asked, taking a sip of the substance to be polite. Adora’s eyes widened and she wondered how she had gone her entire life without coffee. It was times like this, when she had discovered things so wonderful that she found herself cursing the Fright Zone for derping kids with already shit lives from such simple pleasures. 

“Oh, of course! Everyone just kind of knows everyone here in Brightmoon, sorry you got stuck next to Catra.” 

“Who?” 

“The frizzy haired tattoo artist across the street,” Glimmer answered. 

“Oh,” Adora breathed. “So that’s her name. Yeah, she’s not the nicest, is she?” 

“She made Perfuma’s life Hell, I’d watch your back if I were you.” 

“I can handle myself,” Adora said. She was used to people underestimating her. After all she was a thin, pretty blonde after all, and her confusion to the outside world due to her troubled past made her come across as ditzy. But she knew how to fight, and was twice as strong as any guy she had yet to come across. In her life, she had to be. If you had anything in the Fright Zone, you had to fight to keep it, or it wasn’t yours anymore. Poor Kyle.

“No, I mean like, prank wise, Adora. You can’t just go around punching people. That’s like, super illegal,” Glimmer said. “Catra knows that, so instead she just opts to make other shop keepers life's hell. One time, Catra put exploding ink balloons in all of Perfuma’s bouches! It completely ruined the wedding that she flourished.” 

Adora laughed a bit, but quickly covered it with a cough when she saw the serious look Glimmer was giving her. “Oh, yup that’s… not funny at all.” But Adora couldn’t help but think of what she would do if an ink balloon exploded on her white dress right before she said ‘I do’. 

She’d probably laugh. 

“Anyway, I should get going. It was nice meeting you!” Glimmed said, heading for the door. 

“Wait!” Adora called, “do you own a shop here or something?” 

Glimmer smiled a bit, “something like that.” She said, and just like that, she was gone. 

Adora’s eyes grew as she sipped. “Oh my… I am definitely going to get addicted to this right away.” She mumbled to herself as she drank. 

…………. 

So apparently that Glimmer girl was right. 

Though Adora could no doubt take Cat Lady in a fight, Cat Lady prefered to sneak around playing little pranks. 

The next morning, Adora woke up bright and early to set up the outdoor garden display. 

Reaching into the large cement flower pot that she kept outside overnight, she expected to grab the gloves she had left in there. No more thorn pricks for her! Instead she grabbed something small and furry. Adora jumped back and let out a little yelp at the surprise, before looking into the pot. 

In the pot were three giant rats, running all over each other. 

Most blonde cheerleaders working in a flower shop would have run away screaming. But growing up in the Fright Zone, rats were as common as teens, and were much more welcome to Adora. 

“Oh, hi there, sweetheart!” Adora smiled, as she picked up the brown rat that she had grabbed earlier. “I’m sorry, did I scare you?” It ran across her fingers and up her arm, kissing her nose.

Perhaps Glimmer had been wrong about Catra! Maybe these little rat friends were a gift because she was living all alone in the attic of the shop! Adora giggled as the rat ran up and down her hands. Adora felt the warm tingle of friendship in her chest, something she hadn't felt since leaving Lonnie in the Fright Zone. That warm feeling disappeared when she looked up to see Cat Lady shooting daggers at her from the doorsteps of her shop. 

Adora shot the girl back a nervous smile. Catra slammed the shop door behind her. 

Adora smirked to herself. Cat Lady was trying to prank her, and Adora unknowingly bested her. “Maybe I’m not in over my head,” she smiled to the brown rat. 

………………..

Catra slammed the door to Horde Scum behind her as she stormed into the small shop. “That girl is a freak!” She yelled to her co-workers. “I mean, who likes rats for god sake?!” 

“What. Did. You. Do?” Huntara asked from where she sat at her own chair, adding some colour to the scales of the blue haired barista girl from down the street’s sick sleeve tattoo. Huntara was an amazing artist, and the teal scales going up the girls right arms made her look like a freaking mermaid. 

“What do you think I did?” Catra yelled, “I took a bunch of rats that Melog caught and threw them into her flower pots. She just left them outside! What was I supposed to do?” 

“That’s like, really gross.” Mermista said from the chair, sounding bored at the conversation she was starting. 

“Thank you!” Catra yelled, “I thought so! But Blondie is a freaking Disney Princess and befriended them!” 

Huntara laughed, “looks like you’ve met your match, kid.” 

“Yeah, we’ll just see about that.” The girl mumbled. 

…………. 

After a long day of tattooing crying teenagers with fake IDs and googling ‘how illegal is it to burn down a business’ Catra was more than ready to speed her bike home. 

Closing up shop, Catra turned to lock up the doors when she tripped over something. “What the-” she mumbled, looking down and seeing a small little bouquet of lilies that were dyed black, with a purple ribbon tying them together. 

‘Thanks for the rats! -Adora (AKA, Rich Blonde Cheerleader)’ Was written on a little white card tied to the flowers. 

Catra crushed the note in her hand and glared through the window of the pink shop. Adora sat on the counter with her legs crossed, cutting the stems off of flowers. Looking up, she caught Catra’s eye and smirked, giving the girl a little three fingered wave just to be an asshole. 

“Thanks!” The girl lip synced through the glass as Catra glared. 

Catra flipped the girl off. Half of the reason she had black, stiletto acrylic nails were for moments like this. Angrily throwing back the kickstand of her bike, she unnecessarily revved the engine a few times before speeding away down the quiet streets of Brightmoon.

“You win this round, Princess.” She muttered to herself as she sped up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So to explain a little bit, I originally shipped Perfuma and Huntara, but Queen Noelle hath spoken, so I wanted to honour the show in this story. So Scorpia and Perfuma are still cannon, but I wanted to tip my hat at Huntara and Perfuma! (Like I did in chapter 1). 
> 
> Anyways, do we need a third chapter? Let me know!


	3. Old Clothes and New Starts

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adora gets invited to her first ever party, and her past comes to light for the first time to some towns folk.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A nice long chapter because you've all be so patient! :)

Adora rolled her eyes as the cute black teenager, only a year older than her, sat on the counter of her shop, losing his goddamn mind. “I’m sorry, but what do you mean you've never been to a party before, Adora?!” 

That ‘Glimmer’ girl who had dropped off the coffee for her last week apparently had a friend. 

The kid confused Adora, much as Glimmer had. He was just Glimmer, happy and bright, and everything The Fright Zone would have crushed out of you in minutes. It was like their existence was a protest, and Adora loved it! In the two weeks Adora had been out, she couldn’t even find herself able to change out of her uniform, opting to thrift a red, cropped jacket in small, no name town on the twelve house bus ride she had taken to Brightmoon, to hide The Fright Zone logo on the back. 

Sure, she couldn’t afford new clothes with the store just beginning to take off, but part of it was just plain fear. To take off your uniform was something that had just been instilled in her since birth as the number one thing not to do. Sure, every kid would go through the phase of trying to augment it, trying to crop the top, trying to sew little designs onto the sleeves. But after seeing what happened to those kids, rebellion by uniform was few and far between. 

They had used to call the kids who would decorate their uniforms ‘The Suicide Squad’ because they obviously had a death wish. 

In the week Bow had been coming by, Adora had never seen him in anything other than a crop top, and the boy even had the audacity to wear winged eyeliner. She would have been convinced the kid was gay (another thing you didn’t want to be in The Fright Zone…) if it hadn’t been for the fact that he was obviously in love with Glimmer. Though, the girl seemed oblivious to it. 

They had been coming by the shop almost every day, and Adora was happy for the company.

“I’ve just never been to one, I had… strict parents growing up. I don’t see the big deal.” She shrugged, shoving some cheese into the bird cage that was currently housing her new rat buddies. “Here you go, Swifty,” she mumbled as the brown rat ate out of her hand. They sat in front of the big window, mostly to mess with Catra, but Adora had gotten three old women screaming at the sight of them that week, running down the street for dear life. 

She had pretended not to notice Catra smirking through her window when this had happened. 

“Adora, as your friends we cannot let this trend continue!” Bow said dramatically, a common theme for the boy, as Glimmer nodded along besides him. 

Adora stopped dead in her tracks from where she had been putting some pale pink roses into the wall display. “Did… did you just say ‘friends’?” 

Bow laughed a bit as Glimmer spoke up, “Well yeah, of course we’re friends,” the girl beamed. “You don’t think I just bring coffee to all the shops every day, do you?” 

“I… I guess I never thought about it like that,” Adora mumbled, sipping Mermista’s coffee down. She didn’t know that friendships could be like this. The only friendship she had ever really had was Lonnie, but she had called the ‘fishbowl friendship’ saying that the only way two people like them could ever be friends was because they were the only other person around. And it was true, they had shared a bunk together, been in all the same classes, but they mostly just co-existed with one another. Friendship in The Fright Zone was just kind of having someone who had your back, someone who you knew would back you up in a fight, and who wouldn’t steal from you. 

Saying it out loud, it sounded more like a gang than a friendship… 

But with these guys… well, they had no obligation to one another, and yet, here they were. 

“Well, we’re friends!” Bow declared, sliding off of the counter and to the girl, slinging an arm over her shoulder. “Finally, me and Glimmer needed a third member! I think the town is starting to think we’re dating!” Bow joked. 

“You mean you’re not?” Adora grinned as the teens turned pink. She laughed a bit, shoving past the disasters that were apparently her friends, and began wiping down the counter where Bow had been sitting, to prepare for the afternoon crowd. “Anyways, Brightmoon doesn’t exactly seem like the party capital of the world. I guess I’ll just have to wait until the next ‘shin-dig’,” Adora shrugged. 

Bow laughed, “Adora, you are eighteen. Please do not say ‘shin-dig’!” 

“Besides, you actually… don’t have to wait!” Glimmer exclaimed. “You see, since you’re running Perfuma’s shop, that means that you are officially invited to the Princess Prom!” 

Adora laughed as she filled the register with change, honestly thinking she had misheard the girl. “The what?” she snorted. 

“The Princess Prom!” Glimmer called, bouncing from excitement as she spoke, making her bright purple skirt bounce with her. Adora watched as Bow’s eyes fell as this action, laughing to herself as that boy was head over heels and didn’t even know it! 

“You see, here in Brightmoon it’s a running joke that all of the shopkeepers are called ‘Princesses’.” Bow explained. “It started out a few years back as a loving nickname, but kind of caught on like wildfire.” 

Adora felt a warm feeling well up in her, something that almost resembled excitement. A Princess? She had been ‘Horde Scum’ her entire life, and now suddenly, she wasn’t that anymore. Suddenly, she was a Princess. A whole new identity. 

The feeling vibrated inside of her veins like kids in a bounce-house, and wasn't something she had felt since… Well, since two weeks ago, when she had been told to pack up her bunk, because even though she had nothing and no one, she was too old for the government to continue to help. Sure, she was excited, but the wonderful feeling was clouded by the terror of entering the outside world she knew nothing about. 

Man, Perfuma really saved her ass by giving her this job! 

“Well, that explains the nickname Catra gave me…” Adora mumbled, referring to her constantly calling her ‘Princess’. Was she relieved or disappointed that it was a nickname everyone had in the small town? Honestly, Adora didn’t know… 

Glimmer snorted, “yeah, she doesn’t exactly identify as a ‘Princess’, she more likes to torcher them!” 

“Anyway,” Adora said quickly, not wanting the conversation to turn towards Catra anymore. “What’s this prom thing?” 

“Well,” Bow said excitedly, “the high school's prom is next week, which means it’s our busiest time! Your flower shop will be stormed with corsage orders, Catra’s shop will be flooded with girls wanting to get graduation tattoos. Mermista’s cafe is going to be open all night this week for the kids studying for their finals, and same with my Dads’ library,” the boy explained. 

“Needless to say, this is Brightmoons busiest time!” Glimmer took over, “so on the night that the high schoolers have their prom, all of the shopkeepers get together and we have our own party, to celebrate all of our hard work! We do it every year, and alternate which shop hosts it! Last year Bow’s dads’ hosted it at The Whispering Woods, it was legendary!” Glimmer laughed. 

“Lance and George spent days blowdrying punch-stained books!” Bow said, grimacing at the memory. “Well, more like they made me do it! Even with twelve siblings, I still get stuck with the dirty-work!” 

“This year is Mermista’s turn!” Gimmer said, “and me and Bow would be honoured if you let us escort you to your first party!” 

Adora blushed deeply at the thought of having fun. Like, fun that was allowed! In The Fright Zone, fun had always seemed to land you in trouble, no matter how innocent it was. Giggling too late after lights out, dying your hair with kool aid, even racing in the halls always seemed to end up having you smacked with a ruler, or worse… 

But this? Adora was an adult, with a job, and a place to live, and… friends. This was the best life could get. The girl beamed. “Then let’s go to a party!” Adora chirped from behind the register, finally letting the excitement take over her body completely, something that had never happened before. She always suppressed it, because the rug would almost certainly be swept up from under her at some point. 

But not this time. Not this life. 

This time was going to be different. 

Bow and Glimmer cheered, wrapping the girl in a sandwiched hug. “It’s the Best Friend Squad’s first party!” Bow called in the excitement. 

“The what?” Adora and Glimmer laughed. 

“The Best Friend Squad.” The boy smiled, and neither thought to question it any further. 

………..

Catra sneered from the window of the shop, perching like a cat while Melog jumped up, sitting next to her. Even the black cat could do little for her mood. 

“What are you seething at today, kid?” Huntara asked knowingly as she walked into the shop to start the day, Mermista’s classic blue cup in her hand. 

“Nothing,” she bit at the older women, as Scorpia began sanitizing the chairs from where they stabbed teenagers for a living. “It’s just… of corse New Girl makes friends right away with the rich kid and the gay kid.” She bit, watching the trio hug in Perfuma’s shop, a birdcage filled with what was supposed to be a prank fowling her mood even further. 

“What’s wrong with being gay?” Huntara asked in a threatening tone as she leaned on the counter, making eyes at Catra. 

“Nothing,” Catra signed at the woman who paid her bills. “It’s just... “ The girl groaned, sliding off of the sill and to her chair. “Whatever, I need to work on a sketch for a client!” 

“Since when do you care who New Girl hangs out with?” Huntara grinned as the nineteen year old stomped past her. 

Catra shot the woman a dangerous look. “I don’t.” She bit, pulling out her pad and drawing up a stupid gradutation tattoo for the ‘Acadamy of Historic Enterpirzes’ Cheerteam. Tomorrow she would have twenty crying blondes in her chair while she barely touched them with the needle. God, she hated cheerleaders. 

“You know, Scorpia,” Huntara said, speaking to the tall, white haired woman cleaning the shop, pretending to ignore Catra. “I think that Glimmer girl has a crush on New Girl, they’d make a cute couple, don’t you think?”

“Oh, I don’t know, maybe-” Scoripa said as Catra shot up. 

“Sparkles doesn't have a shot in hell with that cu-” Catra yelled, sketch-pad falling to her feet as she glared at the older woman, who was laughing herself to tears. 

“You like her, kid!” Huntara laughed as Catra stormed out of the store. 

“Do not,” she growled, mumbling a quick, “I’m going to get a coffee,” before slamming the door behind her. 

“Rough day?” Adora called over as Catra slammed the door. 

Adora’s smile caught her off guard, as Catra stared at the pretty blond girl who was sweeping the sidewalk of old leaves fallen from bouquets on the street display. 

Didn’t this idiot know they were supposed to be enemies? 

“Yeah,” Catra called back. “I had this vision that this annoying blond girl who thinks she’s better than everyone else keeps bothering me. Oh wait, that’s real!” 

Adora rolled her eyes, going back to her work as Catra stomped off down the street, and tried to stop the movie in her head of what she would do if Adora had chased after her. 

……..

Adora sat, once again, crossed legged on the counter of her shop, long after the sun had gone down and the little old ladies, and in-trouble boyfriends that kept her shop alive had long since gone home. 

Playing on her phone in front of her was a Youtube tutorial of ‘How to make a corsage’ as the girl carefully wrapped ribbons and roses around snap bracelets. 

A cup of Mermista’s famous coffee sat in front of her, going stale at the late hour. Mermista had given her plastic to-go containers for her corsages in exchange for some blue flower displays for the tables in her cafe. 

Adora could really get used to this whole, ‘having friends’ thing. 

Adora was surprised to hear the little bell above her shop ding, as they had long since been closed, and Etheria Street was eerily quiet at this time of night. 

“We’re close-” she had said, before being met with an all too familiar tuff of curly brown hair. 

“Relax, Princess, I’m not looking to buy some frilly little dead plants.” The tattooed woman quipped. 

“You know,” Adora said with a sly smile that crept onto her lips. “I learned what that meant today, and you’re technically a Princess too, y’know, cause you run the shop…” 

Catra’s eyes shot open at the accusation, and Adora swore she could see a blush creep on the brown girl's skin, but didn’t say anything. “Hey! I’m not a part of the girly little club you slept your way into.” 

“W-what?” Adora asked atop the counter, eyes darting innocently to the woman who wished she could take her words back. 

“You and rich girl, we all know.” Catra said defensively, crossing her arms over her chest. 

“Rich-girl? Catra, I can assure you that I have no idea what you are talking about, so could you please be a good neighbour and fill me in on what you’re accusing me of?” 

Catra’s face fell a bit at the girl using her real name for the first time, but quickly brushed it off. “Wow, and here I thought this whole wide-eyed, ditzy blond thing was an act, but you really are dumb, aren’t you?” 

Adora’s eyes turned to slits, hands tightening around the loose fabric of her pants as he faced the all too familiar allegation. “I’m not dumb.” she said clearly. 

Catra scoffed as she leaned in the doorframe. It seemed as though Catra did not know how to smile, only how to hold a cocky grin. “So you’ve figured out by now that your little girlfriend’s mommy runs the town, right?” 

“What?” She asked, because Glimmer never spoke of her connection to the town. Adora had just assumed she had worked at one of the shops and never thought to question it after their first encounter. 

Catra laughs, cute and high pitched, but still holding malice. “So you are dumb. Sparkle’s mom is mayor, that kid is richer than a Kardashian.” 

Adora shrugged, going back to her corsages. “So what? At least she’s rich and nice. She could be like you, poor and mean.” Adora quipped, smirking when she saw the look of surprise on Catra’s face. “So why don’t you get out of my shop? You see, I’m very dumb, and I can’t talk and make flower corsages at the same time. Have a nice night,” she smiled. 

Catra glared as she refused to admit how surprised she was by the small girl's words. Since when had this bratty teenager been so badass? 

“I’m not mean, I’m honest. There’s a difference,” Catra quipped.

Adora snorted, “keep telling yourself that, Kitty.” 

Catra’s face heated at the comment. “Well, I guess I’ll be seeing you at the prom then?” She asked, just trying to change the subject, but realized that it struck a chord with the girl, as Adora’s eyes widened at her words. 

“What-?!” Adora asked, shooting up and falling backwards off of the counter. Catra cackled as Adora clawed her way back up, the dead petals and leaves from the corsages she was making ending up in her hair as she did so. So, she had lost all of those ‘badass’ points she had just racked up. “Y-you’re not going, are you?”

Catra smirked at the girl, stalking over to the counter and leaning her elbows on it so her and Adora were nose and nose. “Why wouldn't I? Like you said, I am, technically, a Princess.” 

Adora felt the heat rise in her face, being close enough to see the woman's freckles, and smell the smoke on her breath, attempting to cover it with cheap strawberry perfume. She opened her mouth to retaliate, but everything was caught in her throat. 

And just as soon as it had happened, it was over. Catra was out of her shop with a flick of her wrist, and a jingle of the door. 

………..

“She’s gonna ruin the party, Glimmer!” Adora shouted from the walls of The Whispering Woods Library, keeping Bow company while he shelved books. 

Bow shushed her aggressively, getting a sharp look from a man with a mustache behind the counter. “Bow,” his father reamed, “if you’re friends are keeping you from your work then-” 

“It’s fine, Dad.” Bow rolled, wheeling the cart down the aisles and glaring at Adora. 

“George, let the boy have fun.” He heard his other dad, Lance, lecture him as they walked down the many winding hallways. Bow smiled a bit, good ‘ol Lance was always looking out for him. 

“Anyways,” Glimmer whispered, “what are you freaking out about?” 

“Catra!” Adora explained in a church whisper, “she told me last night that she’s going to come to the Princess Prom!” 

Bow laughed a bit as he threw some Historical Fiction, or as he likes to call it, the bane of his fathers’ existence, on the shelf. “Catra at a party? I’d pay to see that!” 

“Yeah Adora, Catra hasn’t been to a single Prom, and she’s worked in that old tattoo shop since high school. You have nothing to worry about!” Glimmer soothed. 

“No, you don’t understand!” Adora whined, “she came into my shop last night and said that she was going to go! She’s gonna ruin the party! She is evil!” 

Bow and Glimmer just laughed her off. “Relax, Adora.” Glimmer sighed, “the last place you will ever see Catra Weaver is at a party with a bunch of Princesses.” 

Adora growled, turning in the small aisle of books and storming out of the library. She had to open up shop anyways. “Oh, we’ll just see about that!” She called over her shoulder. 

Adora was not about to let some disgruntled cat lady who hated her for no reason ruin her first ever party. No way!

………….

So, as it turns out, Glimmer was right about her shop being overrun that week with high school girls and their mothers. 

Teenagers of every shape and size, some the same age as Adora, flooded her shop holding up extravagant dresses next to petals and comparing the colours. 

Scrawny boys with acne came in with their fathers, holding up cracked iPhones all day long, showing her pictures of their girlfriends dresses and asking what might look good.

By the time she had closed up shop, Adora’s hands were covered in every old bandaid she could find, having been pricked and prodded and poked. She was hot from being on the move all day, and had finally peeled off her red jacket.

When the last, sweet mother-daughter team thanked and tipped Adora, finally making their way out of the shop, Adora let her forehead find its familiar place on the hardwood counter. 

Adora was used to being around kids just like her. No mom, no dad, no anybody. They were all equal in their loneliness. A level playing field. 

Today had just reminded Adora of what she didn’t- of what she’d never have. 

Adora stepped out into the cooling night, hoping the fresh air would dry the sweat of a long day's work. Sitting on the pink wooden steps that lead to her shop, she rested her tired head on the wall and listened to the crickets. 

“Hey, Princess.” A gruff voice bit at her. Adora’s eyes snapped open to see an older woman, tall and muscular. Though Adora prided herself on her strength, she was pretty sure the woman standing next to Catra on the Horde Scum steps could have picked Adora up and folded her like a piece of paper. The woman had long white hair, and wore an angered expression of which Catra mirrored. What had she done now? 

“What?” Adora asked innocently as the artists out on their smoke break eyed her.

“You know that my past isn’t a fashion statement.” The woman bit. 

“What are you talking about?” Adora asked, the long day making her tone a bit more pointed than she had intended. She regretted it as soon as the woman began stalking across the street, Catra at her heels, looking worried. 

“Hey, go easy, Huntara,” Catra spoke quickly. “I’m sure she didn’t mean it!” 

Nonetheless, this ‘Huntara’ person picked Adora up by the collar of her white shirt and pointed to the Horde logo on it’s breast, not to mention the larger symbol on its back. “This,” The woman bit. She then threw a thumb over her shoulder to her shop, effortlessly holding Adora up with one hand. “You know how my shop got that name?” 

Adora rolled her eyes a bit, despite the situation. “I’m guessing you grew up in the horde?”

“Yeah,” the woman said. “I spent my entire life having people call me ‘horde scum’, saying that I wouldn’t amount to anything.” Adora could relate more than this angry woman would ever understand. “So I figured it’d be a good idea to take a slur, and turn it into a positive.” She then roughly touched the logo on Adora’s shirt once more. Catra’s eyes widened with every gesture, like she was worried for Adora. “The last thing I wanna see is some punk rich kid using this logo as a fashion statement. You think you’re cool, Blondie?” The woman bit, shaking the girl a bit in the process. “You think wearing that makes you tuff?” 

Catra’s hands went to the woman immediately, clawing at her shoulder. “Huntara, quit it! She gets it, now lay off!” She demanded, Huntara finally dropping the girl from where she had been pinning her to her shop. 

“Change.” The older woman bit, putting her cigarette out at her feet and crossing the street. 

Adora tried to will her heart to slow. Reluctantly, she looked up at the woman still standing there. Catra looked at her, reaching down a hand.

Adora slowly took it, being surprised at the women's strength as she pulled her up. “You okay?”

Adora scoffed a bit, “like you care,” she mumbled under her breath in embarrassment. 

“Yeah, well, whatever.” Catra bit back quickly, releasing her hand. “I’d suggest you change, for your own safety. Wearing that shirt is a stupid idea in these parts. There are actually people who survived that place around here. The last thing they need to see is some rich kid wearing it to be cool.” Catra said, stalking down the street after her boss. 

Adora sat back down on the steps, absorbing her words. The reality of the situation finally set in. 

Adora had just been reminded that not only did she not belong to parents, she no longer belonged to The Fright Zone, either. 

She belonged to no one. 

Adora went back inside when she felt stray tears make their way down her cheeks. 

The last thing she wanted was for Catra to see her, and quickly made her way back inside. Though the girl already had, watching from Horde Scum with a weird feeling in her chest that she couldn’t quite place.

………

Adora watched from her attic window for hours. She watched as, around three AM, Catra punched out and sped her motorcycle down the quiet roads of Brightmoon, revving the engine far too loud for the hour. Adore rolled her eyes. Oh, Catra. 

Adora did everything she could to stay awake, blasting music and drinking coffee until, at last, she saw the woman who had almost killed her earlier that night, and would have if it hadn't been for Cata, left the shop around five in the morning. 

Finally!

Adora jumped from her creaky, twin sized bed and tripped over her own feet as she toppled down the stairs, falling from the door to her shop like a bat out of hell. “Huntara!” She yelled after the woman. That was what Catra had called her earlier, right? 

The woman stopped dead in her tracks as she watched the young blond run down the sidewalk. Huntara gritted her teeth when she saw the girls white shirt. 

“I thought I told you to change, kid.” She said, taking a step towards the girl.

Adora immediately put her hands up in surrender. “J-just hear me out!” 

“You have one minuet.” The taller woman snarled, pointing to her watch. 

“I’m really sorry, I didn’t mean to offend you earlier today,” Adora spoke quickly. “I-it’s just that…” Adora took a deep breath, suddenly not being able to look the woman in the eye. She grabbed her arm out of a nervous habit. “I… I just aged out… of The Fright Zone, I mean… I, Perfuma set me up with this job. I, uh… I don’t have any other clothes. I… can’t afford them.” She all but mumbled the last part. She didn’t want pity, but the thought of her uniform being some rich kids new ‘fashion trend’ was so, so much worse. 

Adora dared to look up at the tired woman, who draped a lazy hand through her long hair. “Shit, kid,” The woman breathed out. 

“I-it’s just… the last thing in the world I would want is for people to think your trauma… our trauma was, ‘cool’.” 

“I, uh, I forgot that Perfuma aged out of The Fright Zone too…” Huntara said awkwardly, the terrifying woman from only hours before seemingly disappearing into a woman who looked like she wanted to melt into the sidewalk. “That’s where you met her, right?” 

Adora nodded a bit, looking back to the sidewalk. “Y-yeah, she aged out when I was thirteen. We were pretty close. When my time came, she was the only person on the outside I knew. I was dropped at a bus station with nothing. I found her name in the phonebook, called her, and she wired me some money for a ticket to Brightmoon. Said she needed someone to run her shop for a few months and… here we are.” 

The woman breathed out a few more curse words under her breath, and Adora flinched back when she felt an arm cast around her shoulder. “Well, come with me, kid.” Was all she said as she began leading Adora down Atheria street. 

She was only twenty percent sure the woman was going to kill her, as they walked in silence. 

Finally, after passing Bow’s family’s library, Frosta’s ice cream shop, and Mermista’s cafe, they finally reached a small apartment complex. “Come with me,” the woman instructed as they walked up creaky wooden steps onto a small porch. 

Huntara dragged some keys from her pocket, and unlocked the door, holding the screen open for Adora. They walked into the small apartment, as Huntara began rummaging through some drawers. Adora stood awkwardly in the middle of the kitchen as she did so. 

“Also, I know you didn’t have any parents to tell you this,” Huntara spoke from inside of her closet, “but do not under any circumstances enter a strangers apartment after they had just tried to beat you up that day! Like, seriously kid, do you know how easily I could have been a murderer? A predator? A sex tade worker?”

“Oh,” Adora spoke. “A-are you?” 

Huntara laughed for the first time since they had met, and it was just as gruff and sharp as her yelling voice. “No, kid. I’m not. But I could be!” 

“Noted.” Adora breathed as she looked around the small kitchen to give herself something to do. 

“Good, here.” The woman said, making her way into the room and handing the girl a garbage bag. 

“W-what’s this?” 

“Clothes,” Huntara smiled. “Can’t have you wearing that uniform. Smart move covering it with your jackets, but it’s getting warmer, you can’t keep going that forever. You no longer belong to that place, don’t wear their name.” 

Adora stared wide eyed at the woman. Even though she wasn’t a part of that place, those memories… She was now a part of something bigger. She was a part of a secretly little community. She was proud Horde Scum. 

“W-wow, thanks…” Adora whispered, dropping the bag and wrapping the woman into a tight hug. She was just as hard as she had expected, but Adora hugged her tight nonetheless. 

The woman pulled back a bit in surprise, before laughing a bit and hugging her back. “You need anything, you just ask me, okay kid? I mean it.” 

“Thanks,” Adora smiled up at her. “It feels… It's nice to have someone one the outside. To not feel… so alone, y’know?” 

“Oh, I know.” Huntara said, looking to be thrown back into a memory. Sure, The Fright Zone was bad, but Adora could only imagine what it was like back in Huntara’s days. “You tell me if they don’t fit now, but don’t worry. Prom week is our busiest time, by the end of it you should be able to afford some nicer things than what I’ve got.” 

“Thanks…” Adora breathed once more. “Oh, and… Huntara? Could this… horde stuff stay between us? I’m trying to make a new start.” 

“Of course,” Huntara smiled. “I get it.” 

“Honestly? I kinda like that Catra thinks I’m a rich teenager,” Adora laughed, Huntara chuckling along too. 

………….. 

Catra cursed her employer under her breath. 

Catra had just gotten home, reaching her hand in her black, ripped jeans only to discover she had grabbed the tattoo shop’s keys along with her own. Huntara needed those keys to open up tomorrow. 

Sighing to herself, she knew Hunter's place was closer than Horde Scum. Opting to save some fuel, she busied herself, showering the day off, and eating something that wasn’t coffee, before making her way into the cold air of the early morning. 

Huntara only lived a few blocks from her. As Catra walked the quiet streets, she jingled Huntara’s keys. 

Catra stopped dead in her tracks when she finally reached Huntara’s place. There, she saw Adora in Huntara’s apartment.

At five AM. 

No… not only was Adora in Huntara’s apartment, she was in Huntara’s arms. 

Catra didn’t know it was welled up in her, but she felt her heart fall to her feet. 

She could open up shop tomorrow, she told herself, the keys suddenly feeling heavy in her hands. 

Catra cursed, telling herself she didn’t care, that Adora was a whore, sleeping her way through the town. She pretended that she wasn’t crying. 

“Don’t jump to conclusions,” she tried to tell herself as she muttered under her breath all the way home. 

It wasn’t until the next day, when Catra was opening up shop, that she saw Adora outside as usual, setting up her outdoor flower display, that she was it. 

Adora was wearing Huntara’s clothes. 

“Whore,” she mumbled, suddenly making it her mission for the entire town to know that fact, too.


	4. I Want the Red One

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adora goes dress shopping with Bow and Glimmer, and tries to shake off the weird feeling that everyone in town is talking about her...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a bit of filler and fluff before the Princess Prom chapter that is going to floor you. Enjoy.

Today has been weird. 

The old ladies and teenaged girls that filled her shop with small talk and clattering coins and wandering eyes across the bright walls of pedals had been giving her looks the entire day. 

Old ladies seemed to be very careful about not touching Adora’s hand as they passed cash over the counter. Young mothers eyed her out of the corner of their eyes as they bounced babies and selected bouquets for their homes, and gossiping aunts whispered behind their hands, flashing Adora big, fake smiles when she lingered behind them for a little too long. 

More men flirted with her today than usual, flashing douchebag grins while their wifes shopped. No, this wasn’t just flirting… this was more. This was almost like they had completely expected an outcome… 

Worst of all, when the men had flirted with her, the wifes just shot death glares at Adora, as if it was her fault. 

But nevermind that! Adora was probably just being paranoid… Overly tired from staying up all night to chase Huntara down the street. She was just overwhelmed with the flower shop during prom season… She was too excited for the ‘Princess Prom’ tomorrow. Everything would be fine. 

“Adora!” A voice called, sending the girl tripping overself. Glimmer had this habit of seeming to appear out of thin air. 

“Glimmer!” Adora shrieked as the teen apparered behind her. “You just took three years off of my life, hope you’re happy!” 

Glimmer laughed, wrapping her up from behind in a hug. “Sorry!” Glimmer mumbled into her back as she squeezed. “Are you all closed up?” she asked. 

“Just about!” Adora smiled, squeezing Glimmers hands from where she stood behind her. “I just need to bring the outdoor display flowers in and sweep up.” 

“Good!” She cheered, grabbing Adora’s hands and spinning her around. “We have so much work to do from the Prom tomorrow! Do you have a dress yet?” 

“A what?” Adora snorted, because she had honestly never worn a dress in her life, and one sure as hell wasn’t in the bag filled with Huntara’s hand-me downs. 

It was a good thing Adora knew how to sew! Today she was sporting a pair of extremely baggy jean shorts that looked to be from about nineteen eighty five. Adora had rolled up the legs so they were actually shorts, and took in the waist so they weren’t falling off of her. Adora was also wearing a red shirt with some heavy metal band she had never heard of, though she had cut the bottom of it off greatly because it had reached her knees. Cutting it too short, it exposed some of her stomach. She hated it, but also kind of loved it at the same time, if that made sense? She had never worn anything other than the Horde’s full coverage uniform. 

Huntara had even given her a whistle from across the street when she had seen what her clothes had become, giving the girl a warm smile and a thumbs up. Catra seemed to be glaring at her even harder today, though. 

“Dress!” Glimmer repeated, “you don’t expect to go to a prom in that, do you?” 

Adora glanced down at her outfit, shrugging a bit. “I didn’t really think about it, I guess.” 

“Well, start thinking!” Glimmer said, “come meet me and Bow at the library when you’re finished, we’re taking you shopping!” 

Adora smiled despite herself. Glimmer taking her to get a dress… Huntara smiling at her this morning. It didn’t matter if customers had been weird today, having people that cared about her filled her with a feeling warmer than anything she had ever felt in the Fright Zone. She prayed she wouldn’t ever lose it. “Okay,” Adora beamed. “Let’s get me a dress!” 

……………..

Adora hummed as she worked. The sound startled her, sent her looking around for the sweet voice before she realized it was her own. 

She had never hummed before. 

Tomorrow she would go to her first party, and not ever Catra could ruin that. 

Speak of the devil. 

The girl walked down the street, hair out of the confounds of a ponytail, as if she couldn’t stand the pair having matching hairstyles, and fell down her back against her leather jacket as she walked. Catra seemed even angrier than usual.

Adora didn’t pay much mind to her. Adora had grown up with kids just like Catra, angry. She had spent her entire life with young people mad at the world, and all of them had a reason for it. People like Catra just reminded her to be good, because being angry all the time just looked like so much work.

Adora smiled across the street at her. The gesture seemed to catch the brown girl off guard. Her scowl only intensified after she got her bearings, but Adora still snickered at the girl's slip up. 

“Shining as always, Catra!” Adora said with only a hint of sarcastic tone in her words. The truth was, Catra fascinated her. She only looked to be a year older than Adora, though she desperately tried to make herself look older with tattoos and piercings and long hair and leather. Plus, Glimmer said that she had been working at that old store for years, though she was barely old enough to own that motorcycle she drove around. 

“Whatever, Princess. I’ll see you tomorrow.” She threatened, referring to the prom. 

“I’m not going to let you ruin this party!” Adora shot back, “I’ll be keeping my eyes on you.”

Catra grinned as she made her way up the creaking steps of Horde Scum. “Promise?” 

Adora’s face flushed, even more pink than usual. “Like a car crash…” She managed to croak out, “you at a dance? I won’t be able to take my eyes off of the carnage.” She smirked, using Catra’s own insults of Adora’s first day against her. 

Catra laughed, surprising them both. Catra looked shocked at the sound that came out of her. She turned and entered her shop without another word. 

Adora smiled at the pavement. “We’re making progress,” she shrugged to herself. 

Little did she know of all the rumours sweeping through the town about her. 

She should not have worn Huntara’s shirt to work… 

…………

Adora, Glimmer and Bow walked arm in arm as they made their way down the sunny streets of Brightmoon. After tripping over themselves laughing, Adora shooting a milkshake out of her nose at Frosta’s, and jumping into a bush at the sight of Bow’s father, George (So Bow may have cut his shift at the library early…) the trio finally managed to stumbled into the doors of Spinnerella’s. 

“About time!” A friendly looking woman beamed at them from where she sat, hemming a dress. 

Adora gaped at the store. Growing up in The Fright Zone, she didn’t know so many colours even existed! Sparkles on top of sequence, falling over soft pinks and bright blues, all mixing into the kaleidoscope that was the store.

“Glimmer Mystacor!” The woman with a soft voice and long, pink hair continued to ream. “The Prom is tomorrow and you now decide to haul you and your friends in here to find a last minute jem? I am not a fairy godmother, you know!” 

“Babe,” a black woman with short, white hair called, appearing from behind a pink curtain separating the rooms. “Please stop scaring the children away. As I recall for our prom you sewed both of our dresses in a night!” 

“And we looked just awful, now didn’t we?” The woman said, softening when the white haired woman planted a firm kiss on her forehead. 

This shocked Adora. She stomach felt warm for some reason, her heart hopeful, but she quickly pushed the odd feeling down. Never before had she seen two women kiss. She only saw the after effects… the bullying that love like that had caused. 

Adora was suddenly thrown back to when some jerks outed poor Kyle. She shook her head at the memory, but the thought left a sickening feeling in the girl when she remembered that the boy was still there, and she was… here. Hopefully Lonnie was looking after him, like Adora had asked her to.

“Well, I did.” The white haired woman laughed, dragging a hand through the other woman’s pink hair. “You looked beautiful. Now stop scaring the kids.” 

The woman’s already pink face blushed further as she stood up, Glimmer and Bow grabbing Adora and pushing her further into the store that looked like a six year old girl's fever dream. 

“Adora, this is Spinerella, she is a sorcerer when it comes to dresses!” Glimmed explained, “and that’s Netossa, Spinny’s wife.” 

“She’s mostly just here to make sure Spinnerella doesn’t kill any of us for coming in at the last minute.” Bow laughed, Netossa quickly hiding a snicker behind her hand. 

“Anyway!” Glimmer said impatiently, shoving Adora into the pink woman. “This is Adora-” 

“You’re running Perfuma’s shop now, aren’t you?” The woman smiled down at her, Adora just nervously nodding at the woman who towered over her. Adults always made Adora uncomfortable, but Huntara had helped her out… maybe these people would be okay too… 

“We were so happy to see it open again!” Netossa beamed, “it just brings so much colour to the neighbourhood!” 

“Well, we were hoping you could help us out,” Bow explained. “You see-” 

“Adora’s never worn a dress before!” Glimmer blurted out. 

Spinnerella’s face turned gravely serious. “Netossa, darling. Clear my afternoon.” 

………. 

After hours of Adora being forced into every pink pom-pom, skin tight mermaid fit, and over the top Cinderella ballroom garbage, Adora finally picked out a simple red blob that went to the floor. But there was something about the colour… 

“Adora, sweetie…” Spinny said through a forced smile. “You’re simply lost in all of the fabric. That’s just some old nothing the Academy gave me from a school play, I haven’t gotten a chance to turn it into anything yet. Let us find you something a bit less... consuming.” 

Adora frowned at her disapproving friends as she spun in front of the mirror. “Well, do you have anything else in this red?” 

“I have more red,” Spinny said quickly. “But nothing quite like that,” she admitted. 

“Well then I’ll take this one!” Adora smiled as Spinny slumped into Netossa’s shoulder in defeat. “How much?”

“Oh honey, you can have that for free,” she sighed.

“I know how to sew!” Adora added quickly, “I’ll be just like you at your prom!” 

Spinny smiled despite herself, glancing up at her wife. “You see? You poison the minds of the young.” 

After promising to cut the fabric at least above the knee, and Spinny lending Adora a tool box filled with extra fabric, needles and thread, they finally sent the kids on their way. 

“Best of luck, Sweetie!” Spinny called from the doorway of the shop. “That dress is going to need glitter glue and Jesus to be ready for tomorrow!” 

They laughed, holding their attires close. Glimmer had of course selected something pink and purple and even more sparkling than her personality. It matched both her hair and figure perfectly. Adora tried not to be jealous as she held her red fabric close to her chest. 

It was going to be amazing, she just knew it. 

……….

The June night was just as all summers in Brightmoon, dark and warm, with mosquitoes swarming at their foreheads and moths clutching to the streetlamps that accentuated the empty streets. 

Bow and Glimmer walked Adora back to the shop, their loud laughs bouncing across the pavement of the long, quiet streets. “Good luck with dress-zilla!” Bow called to her after they dropped the girl safely on her doorstep. 

Adora waved them off, catching Catra out of the corner of her eye, sitting in her usual spot, smoking. Adora looked at her, thinking it must be hard to live in such a small, nice town, and still have no friend. 

“That’s what you’re wearing?” Catra snorted lazily, nodding at the crumple of red in Adora’s hands. 

Adora shot Catra the most determined look she had ever seen. “You’ll see!” She said excitedly, making Catra smile a bit, but she quickly raised her smoke to her lips so her hand would hide her mouth. Adora wasn’t supposed to make her smile. 

Adora stopped suddenly, glancing curiously over her shoulder as her hand hovered above the shop's bright brass handle. “Are you wearing a dress?” 

Catra laughed a bit in surprise at the question, the sound carrying across the street as she refused to look at the girl, instead opting to look down the dark street of Etheria. “I don’t wear dresses, Princess.” 

Adora stood, as if to ponder for a moment. “Is that woman… the big, tall girl with white hair and shaved sides- is she going to come?” 

Catra looked at the girl, trying to read her face, trying to grasp what she was planning. “Scorpia has been begging me to go with her to one of these things for years, so yeah, she’s over the moon. Little does she know it is all a part of my master plan to foil you,” she added sarcastically, suddenly letting a smirk come across her lips, where it belonged. “Why, Blondie? Are you jealous?” 

Adora’s face flushed once again. She hated the fact that the mean girl from the tattoo shop had the power to do that. “Jealous of going to a party just to bother some girl you barely know? I think not.” She said, opening the door, but her feet wouldn’t carry her in. “What colour is Scorpia’s dress?” 

Catra rolled her eyes, but entertained Adora nonetheless. “Black. Since when are you so nosey?’

“Since when are you so helpful?” Adora smirked, finally, closing the door between the two of them. 

Catra started at the door that closed between them, and tried to pretend that there wasn't a swelling guilt inside of her chest everytime the pretty blond girl from across the street made her laugh. 

…………. 

Catra growled, trying to focus on the sketch in front of her, but her eyes kept wandering to the window, where she watched her new neighbour dance around her store. The floor of Perfuma’s shop was completely littered with pieces of red fabric from where the girl appeared to be attacking the circus tent she had for some reason bought! 

The kid was all but making her dress. 

“You keep staring at her, your eyes might pop out of your head.” Huntara smiled knowling from behind the counter, sipping on some coffee despite the late hour. 

Catra glared at the woman. “Yeah, you’d know,” she muttered. 

“You wanna repeat that?” Huntara asked, standing up a bit taller. 

“Whatever,” Catra bit. “I tattooed a whole cheer team today, and we’re dead. Can I go?”

Huntara held the girls eyes for a moment before sharply nodding. “Go.” 

Catra roughly grabbed her leather jacket off of her tattoo chair and began striding for the door, not being able to be in the same room as her boss without letting feelings that she did not want to feel bubble up inside of her.

“Your shirt looks good on Blondie, by the way.” Catra shot as she stormed past the counter. 

She wasn’t prepared for Huntara grabbing her arm as she passed by, pulling the girl to a stop. “First of all,” Huntara bit, pulling Catra in close so she could feel every word, “I don’t need to explain myself to you, kid. But I know you didn’t exactly have a Mom to tell you this, so I’ll take it upon myself to teach you that you shouldn’t jump to conclusions about other people’s lives.” She said seriously, releasing Catra but holding her gaze. “Especially when it has nothing to do with you.” 

Catra just pulled her arm from the woman, pretending like her words didn’t make her stomach feel empty and heavy at the same time. It felt like she had disappointed her mom. Without another word, Catra ran out of the store before Huntara could see the hurt in her eyes. She didn’t want Huntara to know the power that she had over her.

She tried to shake off her words, because if she had listened to them, then what she had done would cause her to feel guilt… Catra didn’t feel guilt. 

All she had done was tell the truth. Adora made her bed, and tomorrow she would have to lay in it. 

Storming out of the shop, she almost took out Scorpia out on the steeps as she rammed into her. The mountain of a woman didn’t even spill the two blue cups of coffee she was carrying. 

“Woah there wild cat, I hope you don’t drive like you walk!” Scorpia choked as she steadied herself. “Clocking out early? Wow, first time for everything I guess! Good though, you’ll need lots of sleep for tomorrow, oh gosh I am so excited!” 

Catra rolled her eyes at the woman's blabbering, making her way down the rotting wooden steps. Catra glanced up and saw the blonde through the window, delicately sewing the red fabric, sitting on her counter top, holding three needles in her mouth. Suddenly, something in her made her glance over her shoulder. 

“Your dress is black, right?” Catra asked. 

“Sure is! Awe, you remembered! Say, why do you ask?” 

Catra pressed her kickstand up as she lolled her bike off of the side of the building. “No reason.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fun fact- My real name is the name of a She-ra character. Any guesses who it is?   
> Hint- it is NOT Swiftwind lol


	5. Princess Prom - Part 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> WARNING- There is alcohol and drinking in this chapter. If that's not your jazz, don't read.   
> Also, I am assuming most of you are American, so I made the drinking age in this story 21, instead of 19 like it is here in Canada.   
> ALSO- Yay. I changed my name! I am now Adora McClain. My friend just showed me how to do that! 
> 
> Bow, Glimmer, and Adora begin to get ready for the prom.

Adora woke to the sound of Bow laughing. 

“Figured I’d find you in a position like this,” the boy chuckled. 

Adora shot up from where she had been sleeping on the floor of the flower shop, bits of red fabric clinging to her clothes, glitter on her face, and about a million sewing needle wounds. 

“What time is it?” Adora mumbled, barely audible from turning her face into the floorboards and stretching her sore muscles. 

“Time to open up, here,” he said, placing a comically large blue cup in front of her. “I told Mermista to just throw in as much espresso as she sees fit. Say, this is the dress?” Bow asked, picking up the sparkly red number laying on the counter next to the till. Bow gave a low whistle, taking it in. 

“Yeah,” Adora yawned, sitting up and sipping the ‘awake juice’ her friend had brought her. “Whatdoyathink?” 

The circus tent they had purchased from Spinnerella’s only hours before was now a short red dress, long in the back, with sheen, red, glittery fabric falling off of either side of it. Adora had even embroidered little flowers all over the collarbone of it, but best of all, Adora had sewn real red gerbera daisies all over the garment's left shoulder, going down to the waist. “This is...amazing!” 

“Yeah, it’ll be the only dress at the prom with an expiration date.” Adora laughed, praying the flowers would not begin to wilt before she wore it. 

“Still…” Bow breathed, “this is… wow. This take you all night?” 

“Nah,” Adora waved, rubbing her eyes. “I finished around three in the morning. I was busy with… another task,” she said, walking over to the counter and pulling out a cardboard box from under the till.

“Corsages?” Bow asked, peeking into the box. “I thought you already finished all of your orders for the Academy's prom?” 

“I did,” Adora smiled. “These are for the other Princesses!” She said, pulling out two pink flowers and were connected by a gold chain. “Don’t worry, I made you a boutineer! Here! This one's for you, it’ll match your suit perfectly.” 

Bow’s eyes widened as he took it from her. “You spent all night working on these… for us?” He asked, glancing in the box and seeing some of the most extravagant flower arrangements he had ever seen, even compared to Perfuma’s. 

One was a large, blue raspberry orchid with little bits of matching coral in them, that was obviously for Mermista, with a matching boutonniere for her boyfriend, Sea Hawk. There was a blue winter jasmine corsage with little plastic snowflakes that danced on the pedals, obviously for the Snow's daughter, Frosta. Her Dad’s let her go to the Prom every year for the first hour or two, before everyone started drinking. The girl always got so excited, wearing the most extravagant ballroom gowns that her Dad’s bought new every year from Spinny. She was going to love it. These must have taken Adora forever… 

“Well, yeah…” Adora breathed, “I had to add a few last minute ones but… I thought it would be fun, make it feel like a real prom. Plus, you’ve all been so nice to me, I just wanted to do something.” 

Bow smiled, wrapping Adora up in his arms. “Having friends is pretty great, huh?” He mumbled into her shoulder as he held her tight. 

“It really, really is,” she smiled. “Say, what are you doing here at seven in the morning, anyway?” 

Bow pulled away and smiled down at the shorter girl. “Because it is the busiest day of the year, and I knew you’d be asleep on your shop’s floor!” Bow laughed, “plus I’ve gotta go open up the Whispering Woods early today, just about every kid in Brightmoon will be returning late textbooks to us, so I’ve got a lot of book stacking to do before we party!” 

Adora smiled, “yeah, and I’ve gotta flower the wrist of every young maiden in this kingdom!” 

Bow laughed, “then I shall see you after a long days drudgery, for our extravagant ball, M’lady.” Bow said, doing a courteous bow to Adora before grabbing her hand and spinning her around in circles. Adora laughed. “Okay, okay,” Bow said, making his way to the door. “I’ll see you tonight, Adora. Oh hey, are you drinking tonight?” he asked. 

“Am- uh, am I what?” She asked, taken off guard by the question her friend seemed to ask so casually. 

“Are you drinking tonight at the party?” Bow asked, “you don’t have to, of course, but me and Glimmer are. If you are, then wanna give me twenty bucks to give Mermista to do a run for us? She’s our only friend that’s twenty-one,” Bow smiled. 

Adora stared at the boy. Right. Yes. This was a party. A big kid party with teenagers, and adults. A big, fun party that the small town only had once a year. Of course there was going to be drinking! She should have thought of that. 

Growing up in The Fright Zone, Adora had never drank like most of the kids her age. One time when she was thirteen her and some other kids drank hand sanitizer and got pretty buzzed off of it, though it was disgusting. It was fun for the night, until some of those kids started doing it regularly… 

“Yeah,” Adora croaked out, shooting the man some finger guns that she automatically realized looked super awkward. “Of course I am. I’ll give you the money tonight.” She said with a forced smile.

“Okay, cool.” Bow smiled, the bell dinging behind him as he made his way out into the morning air. 

A weird feeling filled Adora as she began cleaning her shop of the spare red fabric, preparing for it’s busiest day. “Don’t be such a baby, Adora.” She mumbled to herself as she worked. 

………….. 

Bow and Glimmer showed up at Adora's shop just as the sun crepts down after a long day's work. Adora’s flower shop had been its busiest yet in the three weeks she had been running it. But had completely cleared out by three in the afternoon, as everyone was off getting their prom pictures taken in Brightmoons public gardens. So, Bow had taken his break at the library to walk all over town and help Adora hand out her homemade corsages to all of their friends. They had been a hit! 

Bow held open the door for Glimmer as the girl stumbled in, her arms filled with every makeup product imaginable. 

“What is all that?” Adora laugheed as Glimmer stumbled in, arms full, lip gloss and tubes of glitter falling as she walked. 

“It’s time to get ready!” Glimmer hollered with a devilish grin, walking through the curtain into the back room and walking up the spiraling brass stairs that lead up to Adora’s small studio apartment. 

Bow smiled from where he stood, holding the door open, his arms too, filled with his and Glimmers outfits for that evening. “Come on,” Bow said with a nod of his head, as the two chased Glimmer up the steps. 

………… 

So this was what ‘fun’ was. 

Adora, Glimmer and Bow completely trashed Adora’s small room, the floor now covered in lipsticks, eyeshadows and glitter. Their dresses hung waiting to be worn, in the window, hanging off of Adora’s curtain pole. Glimmer hooked up her phone to a portable speaker she had brought, and blasted music Adora had never heard before. Of course Adora had heard music before, but the only stations the old radio in The Fright Zone’s lounge had gotten were country, some french station, and classical. Sometimes in her bunk girls would sing the younger kids to sleep, and she would listen. 

But this… well this sounded like happiness pulsing through her body. The bass rattled her bones as Glimmer screamed lyrics that didn’t match up, while Bow spun Adora around in circles until she fell into a heap on the ground, laughing. 

Adora sat on her bed while Glimmer piled on red eyeshadow and glitter onto Adora’s already pretty face. “This stuff feels weird,” Adora commented as Glimmer piled blush and highlight onto her friend. 

“As my mother says,” Glimmer spoke as she applied winged eyeliner, “‘Pretty Hurts.’” 

Adora laughed at this and let her friend continue to poke at her face. She caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror and gasped, for a moment not recognizing the colourful face staring back at her. “What do you think?” Glimmer asked quickly, “was that a good gasp, or…? I can wipe it all off if you want! Do you not like it-?” 

Adora had only ever worn eyeshadow a few times in her life, but the girls in The Fright Zone had used deodorant to rub off the colours of ads in magazines. She had remembered seeing the red on her eyes from a Fruit Loops ad and loving it, feeling pretty for the first time in her life, before rubbing some purple off of a shampoo ad and applying it to Lonnie. Only, the cheap ink from the old pages made them break out, and Adora and three other girls had to be taken to the Emergency Room because their eyes started to swell shut. They had gotten in quite a bit of trouble for that one… 

“No, Glimmer! I- I’ve never looked so cool in my life!” Adora gaped, looking at herself. She wore red eyeshadow and sparkles, and Glimmer had even drawn a little heart on the girl's cheekbone. “Can you teach me how to do this, like, every day?” 

Glimmer laughed, “of course! If you wanna wear winged eyeliner and sparkles every day of your life, you go right ahead! My mom always says it’s ‘a bit much.’”

Bow looked over at the pair, the man sporting gold eyeshadow with matching highlighter, and winged eyeliner himself. “Yeah, my Dad’s said the same thing to me!” He laughed, Adora and Glimmer doubling over laughing at Bow’s comment. 

Bow suddenly leaned over, pulling a bottle from his backpack. “Lance and George almost checked my bag when I was leaving the library today!” He laughed as he took a swing from the bottle. Adora’s heart sped up a little, and she wasn’t sure if it was from fear or excitement, or both? 

“No!” Glimmer exclaimed, sitting on Bow’s lap and taking the bottle from his hands, taking a sip herself. The girl barely flinched as she drank down the clear liquid. 

“Yes!” Bow said, putting an arm around Glimmer’s shoulder from where she sat on him, and Adora mentally wondered how in the hell they weren’t dating. “George was all like, ‘oh no, son. I know what a backpack means when going to a party. Let me see that, young man!’ Then Lance was all like, ‘let the boy have fun, George, like we didn't do the same thing at his age!’” Bow said, making his voice deep as he imitated his father’s. “I ran out while they were arguing on how to parent me.” 

The trio laughed, but Adora’s eyes were still on the bottle of raspberry vodka in Bow’s hands. “Want some, Adora?” Glimmer asked. 

“Be warned, though,” Bow said, “Mermista is hosting it this year, and she spikes the punch like nobody's business! Just depends on your tolerance.” 

“I -uhh,” Adora couldn’t find the words. Tolerance? Could they tell how out of her element she was? Would they make fun of her? Would they still want to be friends if they knew what a loser she was? She was a deer in headlights. 

“Oh my gosh!” Glimmer exclaimed with Bow’s eyes growing. 

“You’ve never drank before, have you?” Bow asked. 

Adora’s face reddened underneath her makeup, as she grabbed her arm for something to do. “That obvious, huh?” 

The pair laughed, getting off of Adora’s bed and walking to where the girl sat at her desk, wrapping her in a tight hug. They weren’t making fun of her? “We’ll stick with you the whole night, then!” Glimmer reassured. 

“And we’ll waid you in,” Bow said, “keep you safe, and if you ever don’t feel alright, we’ll leave.” 

“And you don’t have to drink if you don’t want to!” Glimmer said. 

Adora didn’t quite know why, but tears came to her eyes. “You guys… Thanks.” She said, nerves for the night warring off. “You’re really the best!” 

Glimmer and Bow suddenly shared an evil little stare with one another. “You know what this means, right?” Glimmer said. 

Adora’s face dropped as she looked at her merichous friends. “What…?” 

“Adora’s first shot! Adora’s first shot!” Glimmer and Bow started childishly chanting together, making the girl laugh. 

“Oh, grow up!” Adora laughed. 

“Says the alcohol virgin!” Glimmer cackled, making Adora crack a smile. 

“Okay- wait!” Adora said quickly. “There’s just one thing I have to do first! Give me a second!” Adora said quickly, running out of her bedroom and sliding down the spirling banister back down into her shop. 

Jumping through the curtain, Adora grabbed Glimmer’s corsage from underneath the counter. Two beautiful roses, one purple and one pink, filled in with blue forget-me-nots that would match her friend's dress perfectly. Adora glanced down at the bottom of the box as she took Glimmer’s flowers. 

Adora sighed, as if she was daring herself. Placing Glimmer’s corsage on the counter, she scooped up the two red flowers waiting patiently at the bottom of the box, and quickly ran across the street. 

………… 

Running into the cooling night air with a full face of makeup, but still in her jean shorts and crop top, Adora jumped up the stairs of Horde Scum. 

Even though it was a twenty-four hour business, Adora for some reason knocked before entering, though the bell above the door too, singled her entrance. 

The store was just as dark as it was on the outside, only a lot cleaner. Checkered white and black tiles made up the floors, with fancy balck leather chairs in the middle of the room. The walls were decorated in fairy-lights, and framed pictures of UFO’s, newspaper clippings suggesting conspiracy theories, and the band's Adora didn’t recognize. 

Catra sat on the counter of the shop, trying to tie the bow tie of her red suit. Her hair was down and curled, cascading down her back. Her blazer and pants were maroon, but the shirt was a crimson red that matched Adora’s dress perfectly, and she couldn't help but wonder if it was on purpose. 

Scorpia sat on one of the tattoo chairs while Huntara attempted to give the woman eyeliner. “If I can stick someone with a needles I should be able to do this…” Huntara mumbled as she tried to make the lines on Scoripa’s eyes straight. 

With the knock and the jingle of the bell, suddenly all eyes were on the pretty blond girl from across the street, being made stunning by Glimmer’s makeup job. 

“Um, hi?” Adora croaked out into the awkwardness of the room, but Catra’s just gaped at Adora, suddenly forgetting to form words as the girl entered the shop. 

“You lost, Kid?” Huntara laughed as Adora walked over to the tattoo chair. 

“No,” Adora smiled as she introduced herself to Scoripa. “Hi, I’m Adora from across the street. I made corsages for all of the Princesses,” She said, holding up a red rose on a balck bracelet, a small little skull-and-crossbones in the middle of the flower. “Catra told me your dress was black, so here you go!” Adora smiled as she snapped it onto Scoripa’s wrist. 

“Oh gosh! Wow!” Scoripa beamed, looking down at the kind gift from a stranger. “That is so nice! Thanks, Adora from across the street!” She said, wrapping Adora in the tightest hug of her life. 

She laughed as Scorpia dropped her back on the ground at Huntara’s request. “Don’t break the new girl, Scorp. She has a dance to go to!” she had said. 

She smiled as she walked up to Catra, who still seemed to be unable to speak, that fact becoming more and more prominent as Adora made her way towards her. “Cat got your tongue?” Adora joked as she accidentally brushed Catra’s knees from where the girl sat on the counter. 

Was Catra blushing? 

Adora pulled out a boutineer, a red rose to match Scorpia’s, and pinned it to Catra’s breast pocket with a smile. “Since you said you don’t wear dresses,” Adora whispered, making Catra’s heart speed. “I hope you don’t mind me making you one, you know, seeing as you are ‘technically a princess’ and all.” Adora said with a breathy chuckle. The sudden wind against Catra’s neck as Adora pinned it to her jacket made the tattooed woman forget how to breathe entirely. 

It was over as soon as it began. 

Adora spun on her heel and smiled to the room. “See you guys, there!” She called, and just like that, she was gone. 

“That’s the girl we hate?!” Scorpia asked as soon as the door closed behind Adora, and Catra watched as she ran across the street and back into her own shop. “She is so nice!” Scorpia yelled, and Catra snapped out of her little ‘Adora trance’. 

Huntara smirked a bit, standing up and disappearing into the backroom to get some makeup remover after turning Scorpia into a racoon. 

Scorpia made her way over to Catra, keeping her voice low so Huntara wouldn't overhear them. “Are you sure about this, now?” 

Catra glared at her friend as she grabbed her by the necklace, yanking Scorpia in close to her face. “Who’s side are you on?” Catra snapped, “mine, your best friend as of forever, or the girl from across the street who fucked your boss?” 

Scorpia’s face turned pink a bit as she spoke, answering quickly, “well, yours of course, Catra.” 

“Good,” Catra said, realising her and glancing down at her bag stuffed with firecrackers, pushing them down so Huntara wouldn't see. “Then the plan stays. Let’s have some fun.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Me reading my chapter to my friend before posting it, trying to explain that Netossa's power is throwing nets.*   
> My friend- Soooo, she's Spider-Man?   
> Me- NO.   
> My friend- Was she bitten by a radio-active ROPE?!


	6. Princess Prom - Part 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “What’s going on?” Scorpia asked as she grabbed Catra’s arm, having just watched the scene unfold. The man was still cursing at Adora as the girl ran away. “Was this part of the plan?” 
> 
> “I… I think I may have taken it too far…” Catra mumbled as she pushed past her friend, darting up the stairs after the overly-drunk girl who Catra had accidentally made bait to every boy at this party. 
> 
> TRIGGER WARNINGS - Drinking, and kissing without consent. 
> 
> Shit hits the fan, kids. Enjoy. :)

So apparently, despite the name, Raspberry Vodka did not taste like raspberries. 

Bow and Glimmer doubled over themselves, laughing on Adora’s floor as the girl gaps for sweet air. 

“We said not to let it touch your tongue!” Glimmer laughed as Adora’s eyes began watering from coughing so hard. 

“How are you supposed to drink something without it touching your tongue?!” Adora shouted, “that’s like, witch-craft or something!” 

“No, it’s called Glimmer being a bad influence in middle school!” Bow laughed, taking the bottle and drinking it down without so much as a flinch. 

“It tastes like nail polish remover,” Adora mumbled as Glimmer scooted on the floor to sit behind the girl, taking Adora’s hair out of its ponytail. 

“What are you doing?”

“Your hair,” Glimmer commented as she finger-brushed the blond down Adora’s back, making the girl shiver under her touch. In the Horde, it was part of the uniform to have long hair pulled back. The only time Adora had worn it down was in the shower.

Bow handed the bottle back to Adora as Glimmer began curling her hair around a hot iron.

Adora grimaced as she forced down another little bit of the clear liquid. “Is your face supposed to feel hot?” 

Glimmer laughed as she sprayed Adora’s newly-curled hair down in some shimmering hairspray, choosing gold to compliment the girls hair. “Oh honey, that’s only step one. Now put on your dress, and let’s go!” 

……………..

The windows of Mermista’s cafes were now flashing blue with strobe lights. Adora could feel the pulse of the beat in her chest from down the street. The voices of buzzed townsfolk carried into the warm nights air, bouncing off buildings walls, and creating a glow of atmosphere. 

It reminded Adora of piling next to the one heating vent in the winter time when she had been in the Horde. When her and the other kids would huddle around it- the only time Lonnie would willingly hug her- it was like they were in some warm little corner of the world, with the rest seeming like the scary pages of a storybook. 

Glimmer was almost Adora’s height in her high heeled boots. She could walk in them like a supermodel, but Adora noticed her pretend like she couldn’t as an excuse to hold onto Bow’s arm as they walked. 

People poured out at every corner of the rustic, blue wooden house that Mermista had turned into her coffee shop right out of high school. 

Adora noticed Catra right away. She leaned against the wall of the house, smoking a cigarette and looking like she was already bored. Scorpia stood next to her, obviously dying to get into the party, but smiling nonetheless. They were both still wearing the corsage Adora had given them. 

Was she waiting for her? 

Before she could ask, or before the tattooed woman could even notice her, they were interrupted by a loud and intoxicated voice. “Bow!” A man screamed, too loud for the night, as he stumbled out of the door and into Bow’s arms. “You made it!” 

“Hi, Sea Hawk.” Bow sighed as he caught the man. 

“Sea Hawk?” Adora laughed at the name, as the man shot up and extended a hand to her. 

“Yes, Sean Hawkington.” He smiled, shaking her hand before planting a kiss on the top of it. Adora caught Catra out of the corner of her eye, shooting up at this action. Adora couldn’t help but smirk. “But my friends call me Sea Hawk- I know you, my dearest likes you. Which is strange, as Mermista doesn much like anyone.” The mustached man said. 

Adora laughed, “well it’s lovely to meet you. Shall we?” 

Catra glared as the group walked past her and through the door. She crushed her cigarette in between her fingers when she saw Sea Hawk’s hand too low down on Adora’s back as he led her in. 

“Scorpia, let’s move.” She bit, following the group in. 

……… 

Here's the thing about a party. You never stick with your friends. 

I’m sorry, that’s just how it works. 

No matter how much you try to stick together, once you’re in a small space with a hundred drunk people, then you’re going to eventually split up. 

They had stuck together for the first thirty minutes. Adora had horribly lost a game of beer-pong to Bow, and had been forced to drink down some sort of substance that left her woozy. Glimmer had danced with her, making the girl laugh as she spun her. But inevitably, they lost each other in the crowd. 

Alcohol somehow gave you confidence for one night, and regret for one mourning. Adora found herself getting along with everyone. The thing about alcohol is it makes everyone temporary best friends. However, Adora noticed some of the husbands from her flower shop who would flirt with her, causing their wifes to hate her, giving the girl somewhat of a reputation overnight. These men looked at Adora like she was a meal, and she steered clear of them as best she could. 

Half of the tables in Mermista’s place were cleared out to fit everyone. People lined the walls, danced in the middle of it, and even stood on table tops. The coffee bar had been converted into a real one. The lights made it seem as though they were underwater. 

Drunk, dancing strangers bumped into Adora, pushing her every which way until she realized she would no longer see Glimmer and Bow. She could no longer recognize the faces around her. 

Adora elbowed her way through the sweaty crowd until she found herself at the bar, thankfully the least populated place as the room danced. 

Adora poured herself some red punch to give her hands something to do, glancing out nervously into the crowd and hoping to find the familiar tuft of curly pink hair, but to no avail. 

………. 

Catra was already over this. 

“C’mon,” Scorpia bothered. “Let’s go in, Wild Cat! Isn’t that the whole point?” 

“The whole point,” Catra bit, “is to ruin this thing.” 

Scorpia kept talking, but her words didn’t seem to factor as the other ‘so gay I can’t believe he had a girlfriend’ boy in town, Sea Hawk, came busting out of the door into his ‘boyfriend’s’ arms. 

It’s no question that him and Bow make out drunk at every party, so it was no surprise that the guy was already falling into his arms. 

What caught Catra’s attention, however, was the girl to his left. 

Sure, Adora was stunning when she had stormed into her shop and bombarded her with flowers (this girl was getting really hard to hate, which just pissed Catra off even more!) but now? Well, now she was in the most beautiful little red number Catra had ever seen. Her hair was down, glittering and falling in her face with some sort of gold sparkles that the night only amplified. 

‘Not fair,’ Catra thought. 

But then, from across the sidewalk, she saw Seah Hawk kiss her hand, and put his hand dangerously low on her back, and Catra was just reminded that she was just a whore. 

Still, Catra couldn’t help the fact that even though New Girl was sleeping her way through the town, she still didn’t seem to notice her. 

“Scorpia, let’s move.” She bit at her friend as she brushed past her, trailing behind the blond girl. 

Catra didn’t even try to stifle her laugh at the sight of the girl. “Man does she look like a fish out of water, right Scor- '' Catra frowned to see that in the ocean of drunk people, she had somehow already managed to lose her six foot best friend. “Great.” She muttered, easily trailing behind Adora. She couldn’t seem to lose the girl in the red dress in the crowded space. Adora didn’t blend in well. 

Walking up the stairs and pushing past people, gaining some dirty looks as she did so, Catra leaned on the guardrail and watched her curiously. She had watched the girl laugh and drink, but the second she had gotten separated from her friends she looked so… lost? Scared.

But just look at the girl! She was stunning, a ditzy, blond teenager with a god complex. Catra was sure that she had probably gone to just about every high school house party to ever be thrown. Probably slept her way through the football team, too. 

Shaking her head from her thoughts, Catra saw her white haired friend sticking the little red bombs they had made to the banisters, easily being undetected as the only sober people in this drunken fish bowl. 

Catra’s grip on the banister tightened as she saw the looks some of the men were giving the girl, and briefly wondered if that had been her fault, airing Adora’s dirty laundry to the town.

Ignoring the feeling, and neglecting the blame, Catra smirked as she saw her little blond friend pouring herself a cup of poison. Catra trailed up the steps and began littering the little surprises around the upper part of the house.   
…………

Had the room always been spinning? 

Adora stood from her seat, having been drinking down the cups of red juice to keep herself busy, newly alone in the crowded space. It had tasted like overly sweetened kool-aid and red licorice, but when Adora stood she felt as though she might fall over. 

“What the…” She mumbled as she stumbled, finding herself in two warm, tattooed arms. She glanced up to see the devil, herself. 

“How much have you had, Princess?” Catra laughed as she caught the girl, hoping her laughter masked her underlying concern as she eyed the girl. 

Adora rolled her eyes, pushing herself out of the woman. “I’ve only had two shots, and a cup of beer.” Adora snapped defensively, because the last thing she wanted Catra to think was that she got drunk and messy the second she entered a party. Not that she cared what Catra thought about her… “I must just be hot.” 

Catra rolled her eyes as she continued to hold onto Adora’s arm. “You’ve been drinking that punch all night, Blondie. That stuff is lethal the way Mermista makes it.” 

Adora rolled her eyes, tipping her red cup in the air and finishing the last bit left inside of her fourth cup. “Doesn’t taste like there is alcohol in here,” Adora shrugged. “And trust me, I’d know. You see, kitty girl,” Adora smiled, waving her finger around a bit and booping Catra’s nose as she spoke. “I had my first bit of alcohol tonight, and it tasted like nail polish remover, and not even a little bit like raspberries! But this!” Adora called, thrusting the empty cup into Catra’s face. “This tastes like the junk we used to get on Christmas!” Adora hiccuped, referring to the fruit punch the Horde would supply. “So there, check mate.” 

Catra snorted, “have you really never had a spiked punch before?” What did Adora mean she had never drank before? Every girl that looked like her in high school graduated with at least a slight Peach Cooler addiction. Nonetheless, if there was one thing Catra had learned in her life, it was that drunk people didn’t like. “Seriously, Blondie. If this is your first time drinking you should really slow it down.” 

Adora shot her a look that looked deathly sober, startling Catra a bit. “No. You don’t get to do that.” 

“Do what?” 

“Be nice to me. You don’t get to be nice to me when you feel like it. That’s not how it works.” Adora pouted, ripping her arm from Catra’s grasp and disappearing into the crowd. 

Catra watched her leave. “Whatever,” Catra bit into the sweaty air. It’s not like she was worried about Adora. She was here to torment her, after all. 

………

Adora found herself a place on the wall. She wanted to dance, like Glimmer had shown her how to in her room, but Mermista's place swayed too much to move much. 

Suddenly a figure was looming over Adora. A man about as tall as Scorpia, with dusty brown hair and matching stubble put a muscular arm just above Adora’s head and leaned in close. He smelled like punch. 

“That girl over there bothin’ ya, miss?” He slurred. 

“‘M fine.” Adora mumbled, pushing herself harder into the wall to try to put some space between her and the guy.

“You know,” the guy said, leaning in close to Adora’s ear, his breath sending terrified little shivers down her bones. “Word on the street is that you put out. Wanna have some fun?” 

“What?” Adora said, put didn’t wait for further explanation. She shoved the guy off of her with as much force as she could. He was drunk, which worked to her advantage as he stumbled over, knocking over three people as he fell. 

He tipped over two girls who were carrying back drinks to their friends. The red solo cups went flying, landing over half of the crowd, causing drunk girls to let out ear piercing shrieks in surprise, their dresses now dyed red with the freezing cold liquid. 

Just as luck would have it, this mini fiasco went down just as the DJ was switching tracks. The room was deathly silent, with every eye on Adora. 

Adora made eye contact with Catra from across the room, both of their eyes wide. She felt like she was drowning. 

Just like that, the music came back on, the blaring volume startling everyone for a brief second. 

The man on the floor began screaming curse words at her, and Adora quickly pushed off of the wall and through the crowd. 

Adora stumbled up the stairs, hoping to find Glimmer or Bow, hoping to escape the scene she had caused. 

What was the guy talking about? Was that really her reputation? She had never even kissed someone, so much as… well. 

The small upstairs balcony was littered with a few tables and, thankfully, fewer people, though the smoke machine and lights still made everything clouded and foggy. 

Adora didn’t even realize she was crying until she saw all of the odd looks she was getting. Damnit. 

Opening her first door she could find to escape the stairs of pity, Adora stumbled into the small break room. Her eyes shot open as she saw Glimmer sitting on Bow’s lap on top of some old loveset, the pair drunkenly making out. 

Adora quickly closes the door, not wanting to interrupt them. “My bad…” She mumbled as she stumped through the thin crowd, one hand on the wall as she felt as though she was on a carousel. 

Feeling a doorknob as she walked, she quickly turned it and fell into the space. It was some small supply, stacked high with boxes. It smelled like cardboard and coffee beans. 

Adora tripped over self as she fell into the room, slamming the door behind her. “What’s going on?” She mumbled to herself as she curled up onto the floor. Maybe Catra was right… maybe the punch has been spiked. Didn’t Bow say something about that in her room when they were all getting ready? It felt like a million years ago. Nonetheless, this whole ‘drunk’ thing went from being really fun, to really not fun. 

She remembered back to that one time when Lonnie and Rogelio had raided the supply closet while on Bathroom Duty, and snuck four bottles of MouthWash into the bunks. 

Adora had only managed to get down one sip of the painful peppermint, but the other kids had done more. 

She remembered Lonnie on the bathroom floor later that night, laying on her stomach with her hands above her head. She had said it was an old trick her sisters had taught her for when you drank too much, to sober you up. 

Even if it was an old wives tail, Adora laid on her stomach until the rooms spinning had slowed down. Thanks, Lonnie. 

Suddenly the door swung open, hitting Adora’s feet. “Sorry!” She called, sitting up quickly. 

“Oh, no problem, Honey Cakes.” The person smiled, making their way into the room and closing the door behind them. 

Adora looked up at the person as she pulled herself up to sit on a box. They had long white hair going down their back, and a creepy, thin smile. Though they were skinny, they had defined muscles and had at least a foot on Adora, even without their high heels. “Do I know you?” 

“No, Sweets.” They said, “they call me Double Trouble, I’m… ‘friends’ with your little kitty neighbour. Say, I saw you cause quite a scene down there, bravo.” 

“I didn’t mean to,” Adora mumbled, the rest of the punch hitting her as she swayed some more, pressing her face into her hands. 

“Sure you didn’t,” they remarked, sitting down eerily close to her. “You know, some men just have no manners. But you can’t blame the guy, you do have quite a reputation.” 

Adora wanted to react but couldn’t. Their words barley began to factor as she swayed, wishing this person would just go away. 

“You know,” they continued, scooting a little closer to Adora. “In my business we know that a reputation is… earned.” Adora felt skinny little fingers begin to grasp her thigh, squeezing down a bit. “Catra tells me you like to put out, figured I might have a shot,” they said, grip tightening as they spoke. 

Catra had said what? Adora could even begin to comprehend their words though, as she recoiled at the touch. Adora shot up despite the small room, knocking over some boxes as she jolted up, “get off of me!” She screamed at the person. 

“I like a challenge,” they smiled, wide and creepy like a lizard. 

Adora ran for the door, but the room sawed as she just found herself against the wall as she slumped over. She saw the doorknob jingling as she fell against the wall, and realized someone was trying to get in. 

“Help!” Adora screached, but could no longer talk as a mouth was now on her own. 

So this was her first kiss. 

……

Fuck. 

“What’s going on?” Scorpia asked as she grabbed Catra’s arm, having just watched the scene unfold. The man was still cursing at Adora as the girl ran away. “Was this part of the plan?” 

“I… I think I may have taken it too far…” Catra mumbled as she pushed past her friend, darting up the stairs after the overly-drunk girl who Catra had accidentally made bait to every boy at this party. 

Pushing past people, Catra glanced around the crowds furiously for Adora. Catra didn’t know why she felt so much worry building up in her chest, absolute terror for the shit situation Adora had been thrust into, but she did. 

Catra had just meant to mess with her! She had never intended to completely nuke this party! It seems like all Catra did was hurt people. 

It was just… when she bothered Adora, she had her attention. Catra didn’t know why, but she loved that. 

“Adora?” Catra called as she moved her way through dizzying green and blue lights. Suddenly, her eyes turned to slits. “Double.” She growled to herself, watching them push their way into a small supply closet. As the door opened, Catra saw the unmistakable flash of the brilliant red Adora was wearing. 

“No,” she whispered to herself as she ran to catch up to them, tripping over herself as she did. Catra did not like Double. They had been best friends for a minute at some point, but about a year ago they had screwed her over. 

Catra learned the hard way that Double had no loyalties. 

They were the last person on Earth that Catra wanted to be around Adora… especially when she was like this.

Pounding on the door, she tried for the knob, but it was locked. She jiggled, pounded and scratched, but to no avail. “Adora! Open up!” 

Then she heard it. 

“Help!” She heard Adora’s sweet little voice yip. 

“Adora!” Catra yelled from the other side of the door, but knew her voice was drowned out by the blaring music. Panicking, Catra dug into her suit pocket and pulled out one of her cherry bombs. 

They were meant to be a prank for the end of the night. Catra and Scorpia had spent their whole shift making them. There were just little smoke bombs with fire crackers in them, meant to cause a bit of panic, much like when high schoolers pulled the fire alarm on the last day. 

Sticking one on the door-hinge, Catra pushed the button and stood back. 

………… 

Catra was being weird. She had just pushed past Scorpia, muttering something about taking it ‘too far’ or whatever. 

Scorpia watched her friend tear up the stairs, and didn't think too much of it until she heard the small crowd upstairs scream, the balcony quickly filling with smoke, the loud popping sound of firecrackers rattling ear drums and overpowering the music that pulsed through the cafe. 

“Huh, I didn’t think we were doing it this early…” Scorpia mused to herself as he stuffed her face at the snack bar. “Oh well, Catra’s the boss.” She shrugged, activating the others bombs they had placed around throughout the night, before slipping out the front door as chaos infused behind her. 

…………..

Lips peeled off of Adora at the sounds of screams and footsteps, the door popping open in a blast of smoke. “Well, that’s my cue, cutie. But this was fun. We simply must continue it sometime,” they whispered into Adora’s ear, before shoving her to the side and slipping out of the door, easily disappearing into the chaos. 

“Adora!” Catra called, helping the girl off of the floor. Adora officially had no idea what was going on. She was drunk, and confused, her brain still trying to factor what Double had just done… now suddenly the world was exploding, and she was in Catra’s arms. 

Catra all but carried her through the smoke, her arm supporting Adora around her waist, her head falling heavily on Catra’s shoulder as they walked.

As they were going down the stairs, the smoke and loud popping sounds, mixed with ten pounds of vodka in a twenty pound girl, Adora began to slouch more, falling a bit. Catra easily scooped the girl up, carrying her bridal style out of the building. 

Adora’s head fell heavily into the nook of Catra’s shoulder as she willed the world to make sense again. Catra felt her face heat with Adora’s weight against her, her heart speeding up even more, not because of the adrenaline, but from the smell of flowers and hairspray that radiated off of the girl. 

The crowd screamed as firecrackers blarred with the full volume of fireworks, smoke filling the house and blinding the people as they trampled over one another to the doors. 

Catra watched the turning sea of scared people. This should have been fun, but all Catra could think was, ‘someone could have gotten hurt.’ 

………. 

The night air hit them like a truck as they escaped the hot box that was Mermista’s cafe.

Adora began coughing, hacking up half a lung as the pair collapsed onto the sidewalk. Catra kneed down beside her, raking some hair from her eyes as the girl gulped down the fresh air. 

Adora batted her hand away with all of the strength she had left. “What the fuck is wrong with you?!” Adora screamed at her, Catra falling back at the notion. 

“I- what?” Catra gaped, sort of expecting maybe a ‘thank you’ for pulling her from the flames. “You’re welcome, for carrying your ass out of there, Princess!” 

“Don’t play dumb with me, Catra!” Adora screamed at the girl. They would have been causing a scene if it hadn't been for the screaming and coughing people flooding the streets. “I’ve been getting tongues shoved down my throat all night! Double told me that everyone heard it from you! That I sleep around! Like seriously, what is wrong with you?” 

Catra felt tears in her eyes, but silently blamed it on the smoke. She wanted to apologize. To hug Adora. To kill Double. But her mother had always told her that her pride would be the death of her… “Hey, don’t get mad at me for telling the truth, Princess. You got yourself into this mess, you’re just lucky I pulled you out of it!” 

Adora, dizzy and drunk and still tasting that awful stranger in her mouth, still managed to grab Catra’s collar, pulling her in close. “No, Catra. That’s not how the real world works, that’s how high school works! You need to grow up.” 

“Grow up?” Catra bit, “I’ve been taking care of myself since I was sixteen, Princess, you don’t get to tell me to grow up.” 

“Catra!” Adora bit, pulling her in closer so she could see the rage radiating off of her. “A guy locked me in a closet and stuck his tongue down my throat because you started a rumour that I wanted it. That is your fault! Not to mention you just, quite literally, bombed this party! You ‘saved’ me from a mess that you created!”

Catra’s eyes shot open at her. She opened her mouth to scream back at her, but Adora’s words slowly sunk in, mixed with the girl's giant eyes, suddenly broken and lost. Catra didn’t quite know why, but she placed a gentle hand on Adora’s shoulder from where they sat on the pavement. “What did Double do to you?” she asked softly. 

“Nothing, thanks to you,” Adora whipsed back, looking up at the sound of sirens blaring and the fire alarm screaming, sprinkles flooding the cafe. “I should go,” Adora said, standing up and falling immediately, the world still spinning. This time, she didn’t pull away when Catra caught her. 

Adora just looked up to meet her eyes. Adora looked so tired… so defeated. “Take me home, Catra?” She asked desperately. Catra needed no further prompting, and for the second time that night, pulled Adora from the chaos. 

Wrapping an arm around her shoulders, she walked Adora down the streets, until the smoke filled screaming crowd was far behind them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Me- *brewing coffee at midnight.*  
> Family- Marah, what are you doing?   
> Me, slowly turning to them with bags under my eyes. - I must edit update part two of the princess prom. The gays are getting impatient.


	7. Still The Villain

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “I-” Catra tried, but at Adora’s tear stricken face, she couldn’t find it in her to not give her what she wanted. “I… um… sure.” She forced out, but Adora was already turning on her heel, the soft bell to her shop dinging above her head as she left Catra on her front step, the sound never sounding more like a ‘fuck you’. 
> 
> Catra had forgotten that she was the villain. Even when she tried not to be. I guess you just can’t change who you are.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ima just drop this here like I didn't just disappear for a month...

Catra grabbed her arms as they walked, never once letting go. 

Adora wasn’t quite sure why, until she almost fell off of the sidewalk. Man, she hated drinking. She wordlessly looked down at Catra’s long, black acrylics. She noticed the girl blush, only this time, she didn’t look away. She looked Adora right in the eyes. Neither of them said a word. 

The pair walked in silence most of the way. Occasionally Adora would sway and swerve, the vodka-rich fruit punch still swirling in her veins and making her brain fuzzy. Still, Catra held onto her tight, like she never wanted to let go. 

The night kept coming back to her in bits and flashes. 

By the time she reached the steps to her flower shop, she could literally feel the eyeballs of Huntara from across the street burning into her back. The woman looked furious. Catra was going to get her ass handed to her. 

But, Catra couldn’t seem to care. Sure, she had caused this whole shitstorm, but she had still saved Adora! That had to count for something, right? 

I mean, there was a point in the night where it almost… sort of seemed like Adora liked her, right? She hadn't imagined that- did she? 

“Sorry about… uh,” Catra breathed her words sounding weak even in her own ears. “Well, y’know… everything.” 

Adora looked like she was really trying to smile at that, but just couldn’t. With no warning, Catra was suddenly surrounded by the familiar warmth that was Adora. The blonde girl wrapped her arms around Catra’s neck, and pulled her in so softly, so sweetly, that Catra had to blink hard to make sure it was real. She smelt the flowers and dirt, the hot glue and blush that was Adora, and gently hugged her back. 

Catra’s heart caught in her chest. What did this mean? 

“Catra?” Adora whispered, and Catra didn’t really know why, but she just knew that whatever this girl was about to ask her, the answer was going to be yes. Help her to bed? Yes. Run her shop for her while she was hungover tomorrow? Absolutely. Kill Double Trouble? Of fucking corse. 

“Yeah?” 

Adora pulled away slowly from Catra’s strong arms, resting her forehead against Catra’s, and bringing a hand to gently brush her cheek. Suddenly, Adora had pulled away completely. “Please… just… never talk to me again, okay?” 

Oh. 

So this was a goodbye. 

“I-” Catra tried, but at Adora’s tear stricken face, she couldn’t find it in her to not give her what she wanted. “I… um… sure.” She forced out, but Adora was already turning on her heel, the soft bell to her shop dinging above her head as she left Catra on her front step, the sound never sounding more like a ‘fuck you’. 

Catra had forgotten that she was the villain. Even when she tried not to be. I guess you just can’t change who you are. 

……..

Adora collapsed on her bed, the squeaking springs of her old bed not being loud enough to hide her sobs. How dare Catra! How dare she! 

How dare she single handedly try to destroy her name, her shop, her reputation. How dare she have the audacity to break everything good in her life, then save her from it all the same. Be the bad guy, be the good guy, just pick one! 

If she never saw Catra again it would be too soon. 

Adora sobbed into her pillow, and did not open up her shop the following morning. 

…….. 

“What the fuck was that kid?!” Huntara was screaming at her before she even made it through the door of Horde Scum. “And don’t play dumb, did you really think I wouldn’t find out?!” 

Catra signed, picking at the cuffs of her suit. She could feel the woman staring at her leading Adora down the street. If she hadn't paid a visit, the outcome would have been worse the following day at work. 

“How’d you know it was me?” Catra tried. 

Huntara scoffed, “yeah, jeez, you’re right. The one year you decide to go to a party and the thing gets sink-bombed. A real head-scratcher on that one, kid.” 

Catra smirked a bit, “they were smoke bombs, not sink ones.” 

Huntara looked unamused. “So much better,” she deadpanned, “someone could have gotten seriously hurt with that shit you pulled.” 

“You think I don’t know that?!” Catra suddenly screamed, and Huntrara was shocked to see the tears forming in the mis-coloured eyes of her young employee. She had never seen Catra cry before. No one had. “I screwed up Huntara, okay?! I screwed up!” 

Catra put a tight hand on her mouth like she couldn’t believe the words that had come out of her mouth, like she was trying to stop more truth from getting out. She closed her eyes tightly, and didn’t even pull away when Huntara wrapped her into her second hug of the night. “I fucked up, Hutara.” Catra cried, and the arms around her became tighter. 

Catra tried to stop the tears, but just couldn’t. Adora had just… broken up with her? Was that the word? Was there even a relationship to lose?

Huntara was all she really had, the only adult who’s ever been in her corner, and even though she’d never admit it, Huntara had saved her life. When Catra had finally run away from home, she lived on the streets for a year until she was old enough to officially get herself emancipated, so ‘Mama Weaver’ could never find her again. She slipped wallets out of business men's pockets on the subway, did odd jobs… did terrible things… just to make enough money for a one way ticket to nowhere. 

Brightmoon. 

The last place that witch would ever find her. 

She had walked into Horde Scum with no shoes, and a sketch pad. She threw it right underneath Huntara’s nose and yelled: “If I can draw that good on paper then skin can’t be much harder. Now teach me how to use that stupid needle machine or I’ll find someone else to do it, and my talent will run you out of business!” Huntara smiled a bit at the memory as she pulled Catra closer. She had hired her on the spot. 

She wasn’t a bad kid, she just had a bad life. Growing up in the Horde taught Huntara how to spot the difference. “What happened kid?” She asked, “and what did you do to that Adora girl? She’s a good kid, I don’t want you messing with her,” she lightly scolded. 

And so Catra spilled her guts to the older woman, telling her everything. “And now she hates me!” Catra finished, sitting on the small, faded leather couch that served as the shop’s ‘waiting room’. “I mean, I did save her in the end! I even walked her home, I set off a freaking bomb for that girl! And what do I get? A door in my face. Typical.” 

Huntara nodded slowly at her words. “Catra, it seems like you put this girl through hell. Yeah, you came through in the end, but that doesn’t make up for all the stuff that came before. This isn’t a T.V. show.” 

“What do you know?” Catra snapped defensively, because of corse Huntara was taking her fuck-buddy’s side!

Huntara grabbed Catra’s arm before she could storm off, something the young woman had a habit of doing. “I know that you told the town she was a whore,” she spoke carefully. 

“You’re just saying that because she’s your little girlfriend.” 

Huntara’s expression didn’t waver. “You’re just saying that because you want her to be your little girlfriend,” she shot back. 

“Oh, screw off-” 

“No!” Huntara interrupted, grip tightening on Catra slightly. “Nothing happened between me and Adora. She is eighteen. That’s gross, Catra, and creepy. I thought you thought a little more highly of me then to assume I’d take advantage of a kid like that...” She said, eyes darting away, sadly. Her words cut Catra differently, because if there was one person in this world that Catra had respect for, it was Huntara. She wished that she knew that. “But even if we had, you still wouldn’t have a right to be pissed about that. If you like her, do something about it. You don’t get to sabotage everything in that girl’s life because you’re miserable with yours.” 

Catra sat, eyes wide at her words. “Then what do I do now?” she nearly whispered. 

“You give her time,” Huntara said. “And, you give her more than just words.” 

Catra hugged the woman once more, and tried to convince herself that she was in the arms of a loving mother. Huntara had let her sleep on her couch that night, and neither of them had ever said another word about it. 

Catra’s heart sank the next day when she noticed that the light’s of Adora’s flower shop did not turn on once. No matter how many times Catra’s eyes darted up to the small attic window, it seemed to be devot of life. 

It was like she was hiding. 

Hiding from a mess that she had caused.

How was she gonna fix this one? 

…………. 

Adora had honestly thought Bow and Glimmer had hated her. I mean, they left her alone at a party for an hour and she had managed to break everything. She wouldn’t have ever spoken to herself again either, if she had the option. 

Which is why she was so surprised that Glimmer had come over the next morning, just to hold her hair back while her body refused to digest the fruity red hell that Mermista had served the previous night. After an hour or so, Bow had showed up with coffee and hashbrowns, or as they liked to call it, ‘hangover food’. 

This was a different kind of sickness. Sure, Adora had gotten sick almost every year. The Fright Zone was so cold one year she had gotten phenomena, they had refused to take her to the hospital and she ended up getting her entire room sick. But this? This was a kind of sickness that felt like she was on a boat, with no way to get off. It was a kind of sick that was mixed with a night full of regret.

Bow had been crying, “I’m so sorry we left you! We are horrible friends!” 

Glimmer squeezed her tight. “The most horrible friends ever! Did you get out okay after all that chaos started to go down?” 

Bow and Glimmer had been making out when Adora had caused that scene, pushing that man and sending solo cups flying every which way. They didn’t know about Double Trouble, or Catra, or really anything since they had gotten split up. 

And they never would. 

“I am never speaking to Catra again.” Adora mumbled into Glimmer’s shoulder, and neither of her friends asked her to elaborate, which she was grateful for. 

Adora didn’t open up her shop the next morning, either. 

……… 

“You know, a watched kettle never boils!” Scorpia smiled as she gave a little pat to Catra’s shoulder on the steps of Horde Scum, where her friend had been sitting. Despite the cold day, Catra sat on the steps, staring at the flower shop like she expected it to move. 

She was too upset to glare at her friend. “She hasn’t opened up shop this week,” Catra frowned. 

“I’m sure she’s just embarrassed,” Scorpia shrugged. “We really did do a number to her at that party. I thought it was just supposed to be a joke but….” the tall woman sighed, “it didn’t feel very funny.” 

Catra glanced up at her, pulling her letter jacket around herself a little tighter at the sudden breeze. The sky had been a dull grey since that stupid party, like the sun would only shine for Adora. “Yeah,” Catra breathed as she stood up, the old wood step creaking underneath her as she stood. “It wasn’t very funny. Now come on, we still have a lot of punishment work,” she said, referring to the chores Huntara had been coming up with since her young employees had bombed the town. 

Still, Catra noticed Huntara’s eyes find Adora’s dark shop when she clocked in and when she clocked out, like she was just as worried about her as Catra was. 

How had everything gotten so messed up? 

In some sick way Catra had kind of thought her and Adora were… friends? But when she looks back through her memories, she realizes that she hadn't ever been nice to Adora. 

Come to think of it, she had never really been nice to Scorpia either. 

Or… anyone for that matter. 

When had she gotten so bad? 

Has she ever been good? 

“Yeah,” Scorpio said with a nervous laugh, “I think my fingers will fall off if I have to polish another ink cartridge!” She said, shaking out her hands a bit as they walked up the steps. 

Catra stopped, looking over her shoulder a bit at her friend. “I, uh… I’m sorry that I got you dragged into this.” Catra said, “I’ll talk to Huntara, see about me doing all of the extra work. I shouldn't have pulled you in.” She said, rolling her eyes and ignoring the way Scoripia’s eyes brightened up, the blush in her cheeks. She opened her mouth, but Catra cut her off, biting a quick, “hug me and I’ll end you!” before tearing up the steps, and slamming the door in her friends face. 

It wasn’t much, but it was something. 

It was progress. 

Next step, save Adora. 

…………. 

“Adora,” Glimmer sighed from the window, coming over for the third consecutive day to find her friend wrapped tightly in her bed sheets. “Okay, no, you need to stop this!” The short girl shouted, stalking over to her bed and already pulling the sheets from around Adora, sending the girl toppling to the hardwood. “Its been three days, you can’t keep blaming this on a hangover!” 

“Glimmer!” Adora screeched as she fell, “quit it! Stop!” She yelled as Glimmer crawled on top of her, pinning her arms to the floor and looking at her in the eyes. 

“No! Not until you tell me what’s going on!” Glimmer said, shaking the girl. “Seriously, snap out of it, Adora! You’re scaring us! You haven’t gotten out of bed since that stupid party! And I know I’m a terrible friend, and I should have never left you alone, and you probably hate me, and if you want I can leave and never come back, but you need to get better!” 

“I- what?” Adora said, softening in her friends grip. “Glimmer I - I don’t hate you! I just…” Tears welled in her eyes from beneath her friends weight, “I just can’t ever show my face again! I don’t know how…” 

Glimmer shifted off of the girl, and instead pulled her into a tight hug. “Adora, tell me what happened,” she whispered as she squeezed the girl as tight as she could. 

There was something that felt different about this trust. Adora had never felt it in full. Sure, she had Lonnie, but her trust was never wholehearted. You couldn’t have that in the Fright Zone, you had to look out for yourself. Here, on her bedroom floor with Gimmer squeezing her hand as she spoke, Adora felt okay, and heard herself replaying the night's events from the moment she had lost her friends. 

Glimmer sat quietly, absorbing the information she had just been given. “So…” Glimmer breathed, “Catra… saved you?” She asked in disbelief. 

“From a mess she made!” Adora snapped back, because she had! “She’s not my ‘savour’ or whatever! She likes to think she did me a favour, but this was all her fault!” 

Glimmer put her hands up in surrender, “hey, I’m not taking her side here. What she did was… disgusting. But, Adora… That’s what Catra does. She pulls pranks that go way too far, she messes things up, she’s not a good person! But… I have never heard of her ever helping someone when one of her ‘jokes’ goes too far. And trust me, this is not the first time one of them has gone too far…” 

Adora sighed, letting her face fall into her hands. “What’s that supposed to mean?” 

“I don’t know…” Glimmer said, gently pulling Adora’s hands away. “But I do know that you asked her to never talk to you again. There! She’s out of your life. Now, we can start new!” 

Somehow, Catra not being in her life anymore didn’t make her feel better… “I guess… now what’s going on with you and Bow?” She asked, and Glimmer gave her the same scared expression that Adora had earlier. 

“I think I messed up too, Adora…” Glimmer breathed, relaying how she had made out with Bow at the party and didn’t really know where to go from there. They hadn't talked about it, but Glimmer was sure that she had drunkenly confessed her feelings to Bow, and he had of course been a gentleman, saying that they could talk about it when they were sober. 

Which they didn’t. 

“I mean, what if I just ruined our entire friendship?!” Glimmer ranted, “until you got here, Adora, Bow was all I had! Like, yeah he’s my best friend but...” She let out something between a scream and a frustrated cry, flailing her arms above her head. “I just can’t deal with the casual flirting, him holding doors open for me, him holding my hair back when I’ve had too much, the cuddling, augh!” She cried again, “Adora, if he doesn't like me back, I don’t know what I’ll do.” 

Adora gave her a sympathetic look, leaning her back against her bed. “Look’s like we’re both hiding from something,” Adora said, eyes wide and sad. 

Glimmer nodded silently, resting her head on her friend's shoulder. “Wanna order a pizza and hide for one more night?” Glimmer asked, “fix our lives tomorrow instead?” 

Adora smiled. She had only ever seen ‘pizza’ when the small, staticy T.V. when the Horde would play Home Alone every year around Christmas. She had always wanted to try it. 

“Yeah,” Adora smiled, feeling that familiar sensation of friendship in her chest, something she could only feel with Glimmer or Bow. She leant her head down on top of Glimmer’s, “sounds great.” 

The girls laughed a bit as Glimmer stood up, looking at the old red dial up that was on Adora’s wall. “What the hell is this thing?” She laughed, Adora snickering from the floor as Glimmer flicked the coiled cord in confusion. 

“Hey, don’t look at me! This attic hasn’t been renovated since the seventies!” She laughed, them both shooting up in surprise a bit when the phone began ringing throughout the small room. 

“Hey, maybe it’s the pizza place!” Glimmer laughed as she answered the phone. “Hello?” Adora laughed at this, until she saw Glimmer’s face go stark white upon answering it. “Uh, hold on one sec, she’s right here…” Glimmer said, handing the phone to Adora. 

Adora gave her a confused look, mouthing a ‘what?’ to her as she got up to take the phone. 

“It’s Perfuma,” Glimmer whispered.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Province *Re-opens*   
> Me - *hanging out with real live people, going to parties, shopping, etc*   
> Friend- Hey, Marah, don't you have a stupidly popular fan fiction that you haven't updated?   
> Me- *Spits drink* oH ShiT rIgHt!


	8. Like You'd Get Your Knuckles Bloody For Me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Catra helps Adora get her orders out before Perfuma gets back by drives her up-state... (Fluff ensues)
> 
> .......
> 
> Hello! I am working full-time and online Uni starts tomorrow so be patient my sweet gays <3

🌸

  
  


_ Crack.  _

_ Crunch.  _

_ Crack.  _

The sound of Double Trouble’s nose breaking against her fists barely seemed to register to Catra anymore from the alleyway. 

But the fucker never gives her the satisfaction of crying, or even so much as frowning, instead giving their best Hollywood Joker impression, laughing though they spit out blood. 

“Really kitten, a back alley beat up?” They childed, but couldn’t hold back the powerful grunt that Catra forced out by socking them in the gut. “And they call me dramatic,” Double wheezed. 

Catra seethed, her former best friend's words barely registering as she swung back once more, but DT merely put up their hands in surrender. “All right, all right, I’ll bite. What is this all about anyways?” They asked, sliding down the brick wall that Catra had them pinned to, leaning their head back and finally letting the hurt wash across their face, pain coursing through their veins. “I figured if you were gonna kick the snot out of me you would have done it a long time ago.” Catra snarled at the memory of that day DT had blown up their friendship. The day they had blown up Catra’s life. 

“Yeah, well you weren’t worth it then,” Catra sneered. Looking down at the crumpled, skinny person in front of her, she couldn’t bring herself to kick them, but oh how badly she wanted to. 

Had this been sixteen-year-old Catra, DT might have not even been alive right now.

Progress. 

DT, despite the situation, let a shit-eating grin cross their face. “Classic kitty,” they practically purred, daring to look the woman in the eye from where she stood above them. “You wouldn’t try to kill me when the only person I wronged was you, but when I mess with your little blond friend, we end up here.” DT let their purpling eyes flutter closed for only a second. “Classic kitty,” they said again. 

Screw progress. 

Catra felt the toe of her boot find DT’s ribs, though she only kicked once, just enough to force out a breath, to push a threat into the bones. “Consider this a warning.” Catra spat. “Stay away from Adora.” 

And just like that, spinning and leaving the crumpled person in the back alley of one of Etheria’s only shady areas of town, Catra went to leave for her shift at the Horde Scum. But something deep inside of her, the little bit of curiosity, that small shred of her that didn’t want DT dead, the part of her that wanted to see this mess of what once was her best friend actually get their shit together, she turned and asked over her shoulder, “and since when do you like girls anyways?” 

Catra hated the little grin DT shot her. They could still read her better than anyone, and she hated that. “I don’t. I took a shroom and thought I was at a drag club,” they snorted, the smirk wavering from their lips as something Catra couldn’t quite place passed by their eyes. “I got… more out of hand than I had planned…” there was a beat of silence where Catra didn’t know why she wasn’t walking away, but rather just standing there, staring at DT from over her shoulder. DT, of course, was first to break it. “Would you… tell that girl that I’m sorry?” 

Catra finally broke their eye contact. “I see you near her shop, and I’ll kill you.” 

Catra didn’t turn back this time, but rather keeping the crumpled and newly bruised person from her past well behind her, bleeding against the brick wall of a bar.

🌸

“Oh my god, I am  _ so  _ fired!” Adora screamed, frantically trying to water the flowers that had already died from her three-day long nap. 

“Okay, this is fine…” Glimmer said in a voice far too high pitched to be the voice of reason. “We are remaining calm…. We are  _ so fucking calm right now!”  _ She hissed, wiping down the counter so hard some of the varnish began to flake off. “Okay,” Glimmer said, taking a breath, “what exactly did Perfuma say again?”

“That she heard her shop was closed unexpectedly for three days, that a bunch of orders didn’t go out, and basically that she is so worried that I am running her shop into the ground that she is on a flight from California right now!” Adora ranted, desperately checking through receipts of bouquets and flower arrangements that were supposed to go out that week while Adora was wallowing in bed. 

“Okay, she did not say that.” Glimmer yelled over, knowing Perfuma was too sweet to say such a thing. 

“Well she might as well have!” Adora whined, looking at all of her receipts and wondering how this situation had gotten so bad. 

“Okay,” Glimmer huffed, taking a deep breath. “We can fix this…” Adora watched her friend's face go a shade paler under her blush at the ding of the door. “Bow…!” She squealed, like she was surprised to have seen her best friend standing in the doorway. 

Adora felt her face twinge up in sympathy for her friend. But, one crisis at a time! 

“What’s going on?” Bow asked at the sight of Glimmer manically wiping down the counter, and Adora double fisting a crumpled pile of receipts, hair disheveled. The man too looked taken aback at seeing Glimmer here, like he was avoiding her just as much as she was him. 

But what was he supposed to say?!  _ Hey! Sorry for taking advantage of you when we were both drunk at a party and stupidly acting on my ginormous crush on you that I know you will never reciprocate because you are so fucking out of my leauge!  _ Bow shuddered at the thought of the conversation. 

“Bow!” Adora shouted, startling the boy from his thoughts at the sight of Glimmer looking unfailery pretty. “Do you have a bike?”

“Uh...Yes?” He answered tentatively. “Now will someone please tell me what going o-” 

“Well then go get it!” Adora screamed at him, shoving him out of the door in a frazzled and jumbled mess as the confused boy ran down the street. Bow had been friends with women long enough to know to just go with it. 

“Glimmer,” Adora said with a new sense of purpose, thrusting the handfuls of paper at her. “Put these in order of which flowers are in each, then read them to me.” She ordered with an attitude far different then Glimmer had come to see of the tentative and sweet blond, ignorant to the world. “I’ll salvage what I can of the dried up flowers, and we’ll use the dead ones to make pulperie as an apology gift for the orders arriving late. I’ll put on some coffee… are you ready for tonight?” She smirked, eyes shining. 

Glimmer was caught off guard for a moment at the question. Just moments ago she had asked her friend if they could fix their lives tomorrow, and hide for today. Life was funny that way, wasn’t it. Glimmer gave a sharp nod at her friend before beginning to pile the recipes into piles of roses, violets and lilies. “Let’s do it.” 

🌸

Huntara had given Catra a sharp glare when she walked into her shop with busted open knuckles and hair falling in clumps out of her ponytail. She wished she could have said this was the first time she had shown up to work like this. “Do I even wanna know, kid?” 

“I was fixing something.” Was all she said in a huff as she brushed past her. 

Catra fiddled with an ink cartridge and watched from the corner of her eye as Huntara sighed and disappeared into the back room. She was back in minutes, holding a first aid kit in her hands and pushing Catra onto the leather couch that she had slept on the previous night. “Sit.” She ordered, Catra all but growling. 

“I’m fine,” she protested, pushing back against the grip, but falling down into the leather anyway. 

“I don’t care if you’re fine.” Huntara bit like a tired wine aunt who got stuck with the kids for the weekend. “You have an eight o’clock coming in and I’m not having you bleed all over him. You’ve gotten this business in enough trouble,” she mumbled, regretting the words as soon as they left her mouth. 

Catra recoiled at the memory. “That was DT, not me.” She said, trying to put as much punch behind her words as possible, but really just being in shell shock at the memory of one of the worst days of her life. 

“I know,” Huntara said quickly. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have said that.” Pouring some disinfectant on Catra’s hand, she kept her grip on her wrists firm as the girl cursed and tried to draw them back. “It’s been a long time since you’ve showed up to work like this,” Huntara commented as casually as possible. 

Catra was quiet for a beat of time, letting the stinging of her knuckles remind her of what she had done. “Yeah, well… It’s been a while since I’ve had to fix something, I guess.” She was good at breaking things. Breaking them was easy. This? This was hard. Adora’s windows still remained dark. “It’s… been awhile since I had someone to defend.” 

At some point in time that person had been DT. People would mess with them, with their theatrical ways and high heels, and there had been more than one time that Catra had gone up to bat for her friend. And, she hated to admit it, but a few times that they had for her. 

Huntara bandaged her up in silence. An hour or so later, when Catra was adding some simple colouring to her eight o’clock’s sleeve, her eyes found their way out the window, and almost dropped her needle at the sight. There stood Adora, flesh and blood, and standing on her porch in the night. She was beginning to think the worst. 

The man let out a small yelp of pain, Catra sharking her head from the sight and back down at her work. “Oh calm down you big baby, you got a frucking sleve tattoo I think you can handle this.” She mumbled, looking back up to see her and Glimmer loading up bouquets into the milk carton that was strapped to the back of Bow’s bike. 

Curiously, Catra found herself at the window more and more that night. It seemed that no matter how many times the librarian's son came back to the store front, Adora was always right there, standing on the corner, placing more and more carefully arranged assortments before sending him off into the night. 

It was just before midnight when Catra was heading out for her smoke break. She hit Adora like a brick wall, the girl standing in the doorway, eyes wide and frantic. She looked exactly as shocked to see Catra, both of them standing like deer in headlights. Adora opened and closed her mouth a few times, trying to remember how sentences worked. 

“I’m only here because you are literally my only option.” 

Catra couldn't help but grin, “man are you good at asking for favours.” She said, before finally deciding to cut the girl a break. It was the least she could do, after all. Catra sighed, “anything you need, Princess.” 

It was the first time Adora had ever really smiled at her. 

🌸

It was almost midnight. All the orders were out but one. 

A large, extravagant white lily bouquet with pink roses and satan bows sat on Adora’s counter like a mockery, a reminder of  _ almost, but not quite.  _ She cursed. 

“He’s my highest paying customer!” Adora ranted as she paced back and forth through the shop, throwing her arms in the air and stepping over Bow, the exhausted teen sprawled out on the hardwood floor of the shop after spending his night peddling his older brother's bike all over town. “His anniversary is tomorrow, and he lives in Erelandia! A whole town over!” 

“It’d take me days to peddle that far,” Bow whined. “My little legs can’t handle that, Adora! I’m a librarian, for godssake! I’ve skipped gym class for the past four years!” 

Adora rolled her eyes, “Perfuma is here in the morning. If I lose this client, I’m fired.” 

Glimmer bit her nail, having yet to look Bow in the eye. “Can any of your siblings drive us?” Glimmer asked.

“Yeah,” Adora asked, hope lighting up her face, “Or what about one of your Dads?” 

Bow’s frown deepened. “My older sister Gloria is moving onto campus up in Salineas, the whole family went up to help her move in. I stayed to run the shop…” 

Adora grabbed at the loose hair from her ponytail, wondering if tearing it out would help the situation at all. 

Probably not. 

“Okay,” Adora said, taking a deep breath. “Bow, it is fine. This is my own fault, I should have figured this out three days ago, not at midnight. Thank you for peddling all over town and saving my ass. Now, who do we know with a car?” 

A bat of silence passed through the shop. 

Glimmer’s eyes found their way outside the window, her pupils dancing across the familiar red eyesore of a beat-up harley, leaning against the brick wall of Horde Scum as always. 

Glimmer bit her lip, Adora following her gauze and frowning. 

“I think I might know who…” Glimmer sighed. 

🌸

Catra opened up the trunk on the back of her motorcycle, wordlessly taking the flowers from Adora’s arms and placing it in the box and strapping it closed. As she took the lilies, their arms brushed. Just as soft as always, Catra shivered at the memory of when they had been wrapped around her. 

“So,” Catra fumbled. “Erelandia, huh? It’s about an hours drive… you ever been on a motorcycle before?” 

Adora eyed the metal beast. Adora had never so much as seen one before. She wordlessly shook her head. Catra smiled a bit, soft and sweet and so very un-Catra like. 

“Well, uh, don’t worry… I haven't crashed yet,” she offered with a weak laugh at her own joke.  _ Haven’t crashed yet? Holy fuck she was off her game.  _ “Hope on,” she said. 

“Helmets?” Adora asked, trying to say as little as possible. 

Catra grinned, “Like I said, I haven’t crashed yet, thus they’re pointless. So, you better hold on tight.” 

Adora rolled her eyes at Catra’s logic, huffing out something Catra couldn't quite catch under her breath before slipping on, putting her hands as lightly as she could around the girl she had wanted nothing to do with. 

Catra couldn't help but punch it, the bike lunging forward. Adora screeched out a bit, wrapping her arms so tightly around Catra that she squeezed laughter out from inside of her, a feeling of joy that she didn’t know had been living inside of her her whole life until Adora had released it. 

Catra smiled, speeding out of Brightmoon with Adora wrapped around her. 

🌸

They hit the backroads, Catra never being one for highways. Lit by the occasional streetlight and the moon, they charged down the middle of the empty road, right through the forest that connected the two towns. 

Adora’s grip never waved. “Scared?” Catra cooed. 

Adora’s grip tightened, “not at all,” she bit. 

Catra smirked, not being able to help herself as she began swerving all over the road, back and forth as she punched the gas. 

“Catra!” Adora screamed as loud as she could, loud even over the whipping wind and Catra’s roaring engine. Adora buried her face into Catra’s back. 

Catra laughed, and tried to stop her stupid face from heating up when Adora did this. She tried to chase away the impure thoughts that her mind wanted so desperately to dive into, the thoughts that weren’t just sextual, like they had been with every other blond at a bar, but the thoughts of them going on drives like this after work, of watching scary movies, and having lunch.

Catra couldn’t let her mind go into those thoughts. 

“Come on, Adora!” Catra instead yelled back. “Look up, it’s fun!” When Adora didn't respond, Catra signed, “come on… I’m not going to let anything bad happen to you.” 

This time they both sat in silence for a minute. She felt Adora’s face slowly peel out of her back, and breath in the cool night air as they sped. “Promise?” 

Catra couldn’t help but smile. She had never had that before. She wondered if she was going to miss it when she dropped off Adora and they went right back to never speaking again. 

Of fucking corsse she was. 

“Cross my heart, Princess.” Catra said, swerving down the road again, and testing her old Harley’s limits as she sped up. 

Adora looked up, feeling the g-force deep down in her belly. Was this what a roller coaster felt like? No. In a rollercoaster you didn’t get to hold onto a cute girl. 

Adora looked up at the street lights, the trees still green despite the promise of fall. The air was warm, and smelled like pine needles and gasoline, as a cold breeze carried over air from new places. 

Adora couldn't help but laugh, even daring to put a hand above her head and feel the world move around her. Her hair whipped behind her, and Adora absently wondered if this is how the kids who used to ride down the big hill just outside of the Fright Zone’s fence with no helmets on had felt on their bikes. Her and Lonnie had used to sit and watch them, wishing that they could switch places. 

Catra sat back and smiled, listening to Adora’s laughter the rest of the drive. 

🌸 

The house was bigger than anything Adora had ever seen. It looked as though it could house every single Fright Zone kid, as well as giving them all their own room.

Thank god she didn’t lose this client. 

“Give me a minute,” Adora said, sliding off of the bike and unlatching the trunk. Catra watched as Adora ran up the steps, her ponytail now curly from the drive, swishing behind her with each step. 

Placing it in the front step, she decided to not ring the doorbell given the house. Turning to leave, she slipped back on the bike, but for some reason, Catra couldn’t make herself drive home. 

“Hey,” Catra said, “wanna go do something fun?” 

🌸 

Adora wasn’t sure what had made her agree to continue speeding down the backroads all night with Catra, yet here they were, burning gas in the dead of night, swapping jokes back and forth, and getting lost upstate. 

Finally, Catra pulled the bike over. Adora looked up at the old, abandoned building at the top of the hill. It looked like someone had half made a mansion a hundred years ago, but had given up halfway through and left it to rot. 

“Whoa…” Adora gaped, Catra smiling as she slipped off. 

“This is my favourite spot,” Catra explained, grabbing Adora’s hand and pulling her towards it, the girl laughing and tripping over herself as she chased behind Catra up the hill, her iron grip never once wavering as they ran. 

Laughing and out of breath, Catra pulled out her phone and, ignoring Huntara’s many text messages, flipped her flashlights on, leading Adora to the stairs. 

“I come up here to think,” Catra explained. “It’s quite and it’s really fucking cool.” 

“What is this place?” Adora found herself asking, stepping over a fallen chandelier, stumbling a bit, and Catra didn’t even hesitate in catching her. 

“Well, legend has it that this guy was so in love with his fiance that he had this place built for her,” Catra said. “But during construction, she fell from the balcony to her death,” Catra said, making her voice low and spooky as she spoke, waving her fingers around Adora’s face. 

Adora giggled, shoving her hands away. “Quit it!” she snickered. 

“Anyway,” Catra said, taking Adora’s hand like she was allowed to, and leading her up the crickety steps. “He stopped the construction right away, and now here it is, forever unfinished. Or, at least that’s the legend. I’ve never looked into it.” 

“Why not?” 

Catra shrugged, “I don’t know… I guess I just like that story more than if there's truth out there. What if I googled it and it was just an old construction project that fell through? Sometimes the story is just so much better than the truth.” 

Adora found herself thinking back to her story. Of how she loved the dumb, blond cheerleader narritive that Catra had painted for her, rather then what she actually was. 

I guess she was right. Sometimes, the story is better. 

Deep in some part of Adora’s mind, she liked the story that this was a date, and not some spontaneous hangout with a woman who had tried to ruin her life, with a woman who Adora was pretty sure hated her. Yeah, Adora liked the story better.

Finally, they reached the top. “Is this the balcony?” Adora asked as they stepped out. 

“See for yourself,” Catra smiled, helping her out of the window. She couldn’t help but laugh at Adora’s face, eyes like saucers as they stared out into the forest, with every single light in Brightmoon shining through their branches. “Really something, huh?” she smiled, sitting down. 

Adora slid down next to her, and let her head fall onto her shoulder. Catra jumped up at this motion. She had done it so casually, like it was normal, natural- like she was allowed to. “Yeah, it is.” Adora said as soft as a baby’s breathing. 

Catra held her breath, afraid that any sudden movement would scare her off. 

Yeah, they both liked the story better. That this was a date and that everything was going to be okay. 

Both pretending like this wasn’t going to be the last time they spoke. 

🌸 

They sat like that for a while, in perfect silence. As the night got colder, Adora pushed herself harder into Catra. 

“Cold?” She asked, Adora nodding a bit as Catra shifted, shrugging off her leather jacket. 

“Oh, no, you don’t have to-” Adora spluttered, but it was all in vain, Catra just completely ignoring her and wrapping it around her shoulders. Could Catra see her blush, even in the dark? 

Adora grabbed Catra’s wrist as she was pulling away, dragged a gentle hand across her knuckles. Catra hissed, but didn’t pull away. “What happened?” 

“Don’t worry about it,” Catra said softly, so soft her words were almost lost to the night. 

Adora rolled her eyes harshly, managing to glare up at the girl. “What do you mean it doesn’t matter? Of course it matters.” 

Catra pulled her hand from Adora’s gentle but prying hands. No one had ever said she mattered before. Well, okay, sure, Huntara did but… this felt different. “Catra, I know busted knuckles when I see them.” Adora insisted, breaking the silence Catra hadn’t yet realized they had fallen back into. 

She couldn’t help but scoff a bit. “Yeah, bet you saw a lot of them in Sunday School, huh Princess?”

Adora glared, ready to tell the girl that she had broken four on a staff member's face when she was fourteen, after they had grabbed Lonnie’s ass. She was never charged, but had to sleep in the boiler room for a month. No pillow, no blanket. 

Worth it, though. 

She had the memory in her mind, the story on her lips, but with no desire to tell it. Sitting here on an old balcony with Catra in the middle of nowhere, that was the last thing she wanted to talk about. 

“Yeah, something like that.” She whispered instead, dragging the ghost of a touch across Catra’s knuckles as she laid her head back on Catra’s shoulder. They could both keep their secrets, that would be fine. 

Catra was surprised at this. It seemed like Adora was refusing to fight with her. Catra didn’t want to either, but it was like she couldn’t stop the little jabs from slipping out. She had never been good at letting the cat keep her tongue… 

But Adora remained calm, content, sweet even when she was being difficult. It felt… nice. 

“You closed the shop for a while…” Catra breathed, Adora’s eyes still on the stars. She had never seen so many before. It was like the Fright Zone had taken them away, and now that she was free, she could have them back. 

“You noticed,” Adora noted cooley.

“Despite popular opinion, I don’t like breaking things.” Catra blurted out, causing Adora to shift her focus from the sky to the tattoo artist. “I-...I’m sorry I...broke everything.” 

Adora sat for a moment, absorbing the words for her sworn enemy. “You loaded the gun, but you didn’t shoot it.” Was all Adora said. 

They sat like that in silence for god knows how long, occasionally squeezing one another's arm when a shooting star passed by. Adora didn’t even notice Catra wasn’t looking at the stars. 

They rode home in silence, and as the door closed behind Adora when the night was over, Catra wasn’t sure if it was closed for now, for a while longer, or forever. 

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You can thank my girlfriend for this update as she won't let me come over until I updated because she likes this story lol


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